GAINESVILLE, Fla. (May 12, 2007) -- The 32nd-ranked University of South Florida women's tennis team (16-7) rallied for a 4-3 victory over No. 27 FIU (19-5) Saturday afternoon in the opening round of the 2007 NCAA Division I Championships, hosted by the University of Florida.
"I think the turning point came midway through the singles matches," head coach Agustin Moreno said. "We starting fighting harder and it seemed everything started to go our way."
The Bulls now advance to the second round Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. and will face the host Gators at the Ring Tennis Complex. Currently ranked fourth in the country, Florida defeated Jacksonville 4-0 in its opening match.
Fresh off a win in the 2007 BIG EAST Championships, USF's first BIG EAST title in any sport, the Bulls advanced to the second round of the NCAA's for the second-straight season. The team defeated Maryland last year before falling to Florida.
With the match versus FIU knotted up at 3-3, the victor was decided by the No. 4 singles position. USF junior Liz Cruz dropped the first set against FIU's Marijana Cutuk by a score of 6-4, but rebounded to post convincing 6-2, 6-1 decisions to secure the win.
FIU jumped ahead 2-0 thanks to the doubles point and a win at No. 2 singles, but USF victories by Iciri Rai at No. 6 (6-2, 6-3) and Jessica Sweeting at No. 3 (6-4, 6-3) quickly pulled the squads even.
The Golden Panthers moved ahead 3-2 with a straight-set victory at No. 5, but USF's Shadisha Robinson, ranked 28th in the nation, downed No. 78 Paula Zabala 7-6 [4], 6-4 to set up Cruz' heroics.
"FIU is a very difficult team to play," Moreno said. "They fight for every point and the teams are very familiar with each other."
FIU opened the match by claiming the valuable doubles point, posting victories at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. The Golden Panther duo of Zabala and Nikkita Fountain made quick work of USF's Gabriela Duch and Sweeting, earning an 8-2 win at the top spot.
The Bulls trailed in each of the other two matches, but rallied to take identical 8-7 advantages. Unfortunately for USF's No. 2 tandem of senior Robinson and junior Courtney Vernon, the lead did not last long. FIU's Egle Petrauskaite and Priscilla Castillo claimed the next game and went on to win the tiebreaker 7-4. USF had led 4-1 before the Golden Panther rally.
USF's No. 3 squad of Cruz and sophomore Iciri Rai had rallied from a 6-3 deficit to take an 8-7 advantage and were serving when the doubles point was clinched.
The victory by the Bulls avenged a 4-2 setback to the Golden Panthers in the regular season finale for both squads on April 15. USF is now 12-5 all-time against FIU.
Doubles
No. 1 Paula Zabala/Nikkita Fountain, FIU def. Gabriela Duch/Jessica Sweeting, USF 8-2
No. 2 Egle Petrauskaite/Priscilla Castillo, FIU def. Shadisha Robinson/Courtney Vernon, USF 9-8 (4)*
No. 3 Maria Pazo/Shilla D'Armas, FIU vs. Liz Cruz/Iciri Rai, USF DNF
Singles
No. 1 Shadisha Robinson (28), USF def. Paula Zabala (78), FIU 7-6 (4), 6-4
No. 2 Egle Petrauskaite, FIU def. Courtney Vernon (61), USF 6-2, 7-5
No. 3 Jessica Sweeting, USF def. Shilla D'Armas, FIU 6-4, 6-3
No. 4 Liz Cruz, USF vs. Marijana Cutuk, FIU 4-6, 6-2, 6-1*
No. 5 Priscilla Castillo, FIU def. Gabriela Duch, USF 6-3, 6-0
No. 6 Iciri Rai, USF def. Nikkita Fountain, FIU 6-2, 6-3
*clinching doubles/dual match point
Order of Finish: Doubles 1,2; Singles 2, 6, 3, 5, 1, 4
