JACKSONVILLE -  North Florida women's tennis defeated Lipscomb, 5-2, Thursday evening at the UNF Tennis Complex to earn a bye in the first round of the upcoming ASUN Championship.

Valentina Mariotto and Ana Paula Melilo dismantled Lipscomb with a 6-0 win in No. 3 doubles. It was a battle at the No. 1 position as Rafaela Gomez and Constanza Gorches battled back from being down 4-3 with three straight wins to give UNF (14-7, 5-1 ASUN) the doubles point with a 6-4 victory.

In singles play, it was tight from top to bottom, but UNF grabbed points at No. 3, 4 and 5 to take the match. Melilo only gave up three games en route to her win to move to 5-1 in ASUN play. Her doubles partner, Mariotto, struggled a bit in the opening frame, but pulled out a 7-5 win and then shut out her opponent to give the Ospreys a 3-0 lead.  

Gorches ran through the Bisons with a 6-0, 6-3 win at No. 5 to stay undefeated in league play. She is 10-2 overall in duals.

Cobra's Comments
"We knew going into the match that Lipscomb was going to be a tough team to beat. Our doubles turned out to be huge for us and it was great for the ones to come back and get the win. Ana got out to an early lead and that pushed us towards the win. We will likely see Lipscomb again in the tournament and now we know the competition we that could lie ahead." -- Head coach Mariana Cobra
                                                                                                                                                    
Singles
1. Vika Dzyuba (LIP-W) def. Rafaela Gomez (UNF) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
2. Kate Popova (LIP-W) def. Lucia Montano (UNF) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
3. Ana Paula Melilo (UNF) def. Madeleine Brooks (LIP-W) 6-2, 6-1
4. Valentina Mariotto (UNF) def. Denise Buberl (LIP-W) 7-5, 6-0
5. Constanza Gorches (UNF) def. Liza Diachenko (LIP-W) 6-0, 6-3
6. Florencia Rossi (UNF) def. Thabile Tshatedi (LIP-W) 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 10-6

Doubles
1. Rafaela Gomez/Constanza Gorches (UNF) def. Vika Dzyuba/Denise Buberl (LIP-W) 6-4
2. Lucia Montano/Florencia Rossi (UNF) vs. Madeleine Brooks/Kate Popova (LIP-W) 5-5, unfinished
3. Valentina Mariotto/Ana Paula Melilo (UNF) def. Thabile Tshatedi/Kate Kandyba (LIP-W) 6-0

Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (3,4,5,2,1,6)

Notes:

• North Florida has now beaten the Bisons for the 16th straight time.
• Gorches won her 10th straight match and is 6-0 in ASUN play. 
• Mariotto and Melilo are perfect in conference play at the No. 3 spot. 
• With a win on Saturday, North Florida is guaranteed a share of the ASUN regular season title.

Up Next:
North Florida closes out the regular season against North Alabama at 11 a.m. Saturday. The Ospreys will celebrate seniors Rafaela Gomez and Kinga Gartner.