@OspreyWTen Swoops Past Troy, 5-1

Sunday, February 21

Troy, Ala.

12 p.m.

University of North Florida

Troy

Photo by: Todd Drexler

2/21/2016 5:16:00 PM | Women's Tennis

TROY, Ala. - North Florida women's tennis rebounded from a loss at Auburn with a 5-1 victory at Troy on Sunday afternoon at the Lunsford Tennis Complex.

"I am very impressed with our energy and fight as a team today," said head coach Audra Cohen. "The Troy team is tenacious and makes you work very hard to beat them. We handled their challenge well and remained composed on each court. This composure enabled us to execute tactically smart tennis deep in every match today."

Unlike their match against the Tigers, the Ospreys buckled down during doubles play to take the point. Noemi Hemmerich and Quetzali Vazquez combined in the No. 1 position for a 6-3 victory before Hannah Fluhrer and Michelle Valdez grabbed a 6-2 win in the No. 3 spot.

in singles, Vazquez continued her strong play with a 6-4, 7-5 win in the No. 4 match, while doubles partner, Hemmerich, also won, 6-2, 7-5. Hemmerich clinched first to give UNF a 2-0 lead before the No. 3 match went to the Trojans. Vazquez put distance back between the teams and Rafaela Gomez battled for a three-set win, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, in the No. 5 singles match to make it a 4-1 match.

"Queztali played much more poised and confident today and came up with a big win at the No. 4 spot," added Cohen. "Rafaela was mroe emotional than i have seen her this semester, but she was able to settle herself and close out her third set with smart tennis."

North Florida closed down the match with a win by Mariella Calderon in the No. 6 spot. Calderon fell behind with a 0-6 loss in the first set, before grinding out a 6-3, 7-6 (5) win in the final two sets to secure the victory for UNF. Michelle Valdez almost finished her No. 3 match, but it was called with Calderon's win.

"Mariella stepped up big at the 6 spot by finding a way to get herself back in the match after losing the first set quickly," said Cohen. "Michelle battled back to win the second after losing a first set in a break and I am happy with the adjustments she has made and the confidence she gained this weekend. As a whole, I am happy with our progress. We are tougher, stronger and more unified leaving Alabama."

The Ospreys continue on the road with a trip to South Carolina when UNF travels to face off with ACC foe Clemson on Friday, Feb. 26 at 2:30 p.m.

Singles competition
1. Noemi Hemmerich (UNFW) def. Jiayuan Xue (TROY) 6-2, 7-5
2. Hannah Seizer (TROY) vs. Michelle Valdez (UNFW) 7-6, 2-6, 3-3, unfinished
3. Sanae Ohta (TROY) def. Luise Intert (UNFW) 6-4, 6-1
4. Quetzali Vazquez (UNFW) def. Efriliya Herlina (TROY) 6-4, 7-5
5. Rafaela Gomez (UNFW) def. Nancy Karaky (TROY) 6-3, 4-6, 7-5
6. Mariella Calderon (UNFW) def. Luisa Ferrauti (TROY) 0-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)

Doubles competition
1. Noemi Hemmerich/Quetzali Vazquez (UNFW) def. Alicia Rodriguez/Tereza Melicharkova (TROY) 6-3
2. Jiayuan Xue/Efriliya Herlina (TROY) vs. Rafaela Gomez/Luise Intert (UNFW) 5-4, unfinished
3. Hannah Fluhrer/Michelle Valdez (UNFW) def. Sanae Ohta/Nancy Karaky (TROY) 6-2