@OspreyWTEN Battles Hard in 4-1 Loss to No. 53 USF at ITA Kick-Off Weekend

Sunday, January 25

Coral Gables, Fla.

10:00 a.m.

University of North Florida

University of South Florida

Photo by: Todd Drexler

@OspreyWTEN Battles Hard in 4-1 Loss to No. 53 USF at ITA Kick-Off Weekend

1/25/2015 5:11:00 PM | Women's Tennis

By: North Florida Athletics

Boxscore

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – University of North Florida women's tennis' season-opening weekend at the 2015 ITA Kick-Off Weekend ended on Sunday with a 4-1 loss to No. 53 USF in a consolation match at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.

"Today was a heartbreaker," said head coach Audra Cohen. "We fought really hard on every court and came up short in a few key moments that made the difference in the match. Moving forward, we learned a lot from this event as we are ready to take on the rest of our spring season."

Michelle Valdez claimed the Ospreys' lone point with a 6-2, 6-1 No. 5 singles victory over Juliana Cardosa.

In doubles, UNF won the first completed match with Quetzali Vazquez and Esther Zuniga powering their way to a 6-1 triumph over Cardosa and Alicia Robinso at the No. 3 spot. However, USF edged out the Ospreys on the other two courts to claim the doubles point. At No. 2 doubles, Vera Bessanova and Olga Martinez took a 6-4 win against Rebeca Pereira and Luise Intert. The Bulls sealed the doubles point on the No. 1 court as Taylor Hollander and Marina Cunningham dropped a 7-6 tiebreaker to Olaya Garrido-Rivas and Jessica Cortes.

Valdez's quick singles victory evened the match at 1-1. However, USF gained a 3-1 advantage with wins at No. 3 and No. 1 singles. Cunningham fell 6-1, 6-3 to Martinez at No. 3 singles and then Garrido-Rivas edged out Hollander 7-5, 6-4 at the No. 1 spot. USF ultimately got match point at No. 4 singles as Vazquez lost 7-6, 6-2 to Cortes.

When the match ended, both Zuniga and Intert were in the middle of their third set. At No. 2 singles, Zuniga had rallied after falling in the first set and had a 3-6, 7-6, 4-0 advantage over Bessnova. Intert was at 6-2, 4-6, 2-2 with Robinson at No. 6 singles.

UNF is next in action on Friday, Feb. 6 when the Ospreys have their home-opening match with UNC Wilmington. Match time is set for 2 p.m., from the UNF Tennis Complex. Admission is free to all UNF women's tennis home matches.

Match Results
No. 53 USF 4, UNF 1
Singles Competition:
No. 1 – Olaya Garrido-Rivas (USF) def. Taylor Hollander (UNF) 7-5, 6-4
No. 2 – Esther Zuniga (UNF) vs. Vera Bessnova (USF) 3-6, 7-6, 4-0, unfinished
No. 3 – Olga Martinez (USF) def. Marina Cunningham (UNF) 6-1, 6-3
No. 4 – Jessica Cortes (USF) def. Quetzali Vazquez (UNF) 7-6, 6-2
No. 5 – Michelle Valdez (UNF) def. Juliana Cardosa (USF) 6-2, 6-1
No. 6 – Luise Intert (UNF) vs. Alicia Robinson (USF) 2-6, 6-4, 2-2, unfinished

Doubles Competition:
No. 1 – Olaya Garrido-Rivas/Jessica Cortes (USF) def. Taylor Hollander/Marina Cunningham (UNF) 7-6
No. 2 – Vera Bessanova/Olga Martinez (USF) def. Rebeca Pereira/Luise Intert (UNF) 6-4
No. 3 – Quetzali Vazquez/Esther Zuniga (UNF) def. Juliana Cardosa/Alicia Robinson (USF) 6-1

Order of Finish: Doubles (3, 2, 1); Singles (5, 3, 1, 4)