DeLAND, Fla. - Junior
Quetzali Vazquez clinched the victory for North Florida women's tennis at Stetson where the Ospreys won 5-2 and won its second straight Atlantic Sun Regular Season title on Saturday afternoon at the Mandy Stoll Tennis Courts.
UNF improves to 11-6 overall and 6-0 in the conference to earn the No. 1 seed in the upcoming A-Sun tournament. For the third straight season, the Ospreys went undefeated in Atlantic Sun play and it is the fourth time overall. Stetson falls to 8-11 on the year and 4-2 in the A-Sun.
"I am very proud of how focused the girls were throughout the regular season," said head coach
Audra Cohen. "They decided to be strong and built trust in each other along the way. While we are excited for this accomplishment, we are focusing our efforts to succeed next week at the A-Sun tournament."
UNF got out to a great start with a win in doubles. Stetson grabbed the first win in the No. 2 spot, before
Michelle Valdez and
Mariella Calderon evened the score with a victory at the No. 3 spot. Left up to the No. 1 duo of
Noemi Hemmerich and Vazquez, the Ospreys clinched the point with a 6-2 win.
Calderon followed through in singles with a strong 6-1, 6-0 victory in the No. 6 spot. Hemmerich then made it 3-0 with a 6-3, 6-2 win against Eveline Lepinay at the No. 1 position. Stetson took the win in the No. 3 court, but reigning A-Sun Player of the Week, Vazquez, stepped up with a 6-2, 6-2, win at the No. 5 court and secured the win for UNF. Vazquez finishes conference play with a 6-0 record and is 12-5 overall in duals.
Sophomore Luise Intert also completed an undefeated conference streak with a 6-0 mark in the No. 4 spot. Intert grabbed a 6-3, 6-2 win to give UNF five points.
North Florida earns a bye in the tournament and will play the winner of the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds on Saturday, April 23 in Spartanburg, S.C.
Singles competition
1.
Noemi Hemmerich (UNFW) def. Eveline Lepinay (STET) 6-3, 6-2
2. Arijana Korac (STET) def.
Michelle Valdez (UNFW) 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-5), 1-0 (10-6)
3. Isabella Fernandez (STET) def.
Rafaela Gomez (UNFW) 6-3, 6-4
4.
Luise Intert (UNFW) def. Maja Salibasic (STET) 6-3, 6-2
5.
Quetzali Vazquez (UNFW) def. Carolina Meregalli (STET) 6-2, 6-2
6.
Mariella Calderon (UNFW) def. Ashley Dean (STET) 6-1, 6-0
Doubles competition
1.
Noemi Hemmerich/
Quetzali Vazquez (UNFW) def. Arijana Korac/Isabella Fernandez (STET) 6-2
2. Eveline Lepinay/Maja Salibasic (STET) def.
Luise Intert/
Rafaela Gomez (UNFW) 6-2
3.
Mariella Calderon/
Michelle Valdez (UNFW) def. Alexandra Lyubimova/Ashley Dean (STET) 6-3