JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The North Florida women's tennis team returns to its home court as it hosts Iowa State on Friday followed by ETSU on Sunday.
QUICK HITS
- The Ospreys dropped a 4-0 decision to No. 11 South Carolina on Saturday, while the match against Charleston Southern on Sunday was called due to bad weather conditions.
- Luise Intert and Rafaela Gomez both picked up opening set wins before their matches were called in the second set.
- Valentina Mariotto was able to take five games in her opening set, but South Carolina won the first point in the second set when her match was called.
- North Florida was winning against Charleston Southern, but rain started to fall and the opposing coach wanted to end the match and not finish.
COBRA'S CORNER
"We competed extremely well on Sunday and even though we don't have an official score, we won that match. This weekend we need to keep playing our games and stay focused during big points. As we get into this busy stretch of our season, we need to play as a unit and battle every time we step on the court." –
Head Coach Mariana Cobra
MATCH DAY CENTRAL
WHAT: North Florida (6-4) vs Iowa State (7-3)
WHEN: March 2 – 2 p.m.
WHERE: UNF Tennis Complex
THE SERIES: UNF leads 1-0
LAST MEETING: The single win for the Ospreys against the Cyclones was in the 2010 season and UNF won 7-0.
OPPONENT NOTES
Iowa State
- The Cyclones are coming off 4-3 win against Omaha and move to 7-3 for the spring season.
- ISU competed in the CSUN invitational last fall and junior Annabella Bonadonna finished first in her bracket.
- Bonadonna earned ISU Scholar-Athlete in 2017 and currently holds an 8-2 dual record.
- Sophomore Margarita Timakova returns for the Cyclones after finishing her freshman year 28-18 in singles competition. Timakova has a 6-2 mark so far.
- Timakova teams up with freshman Ekaterina Repina in doubles play and the duo are 4-4.
WHAT: North Florida (6-4) vs ETSU (4-6)
WHEN: March 4 – 3 p.m.
THE SERIES: UNF leads 7-6
LAST MEETING: The Ospreys last faced the Bucs in the 2016 season and lost 4-3.
OPPONENT NOTES
ETSU
- The Bucs dropped a 4-3 decision to Western Kentucky last weekend and are now 4-6.
- ETSU began competition with four returning seniors and added two freshman.
- Senior Alory Pereira earned SoCon Player of the Week after finishing the week with a 5-1 record. Pereira holds a 6-1 record in the No. 2 singles spot.
- Senior Ioanna Markesini went 13-5 last season, while also going 9-5 in the No.1 spot. Markesini is 5-3 in 2018.
- Before their match against the Ospreys, the Bucs play Chattanooga on March 3.
LOOKING AHEAD
North Florida remains at home and welcomes James Madison and Savannah State on Friday, March 9 at 1 and 7 p.m., respectively.
