TAMPA, JANUARY 17, 2020– South Florida women's tennis shutout Cornell in its home opener, 7-0, Friday afternoon at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts.
 
USF won the doubles point with pure dominance, beginning with Janvhi Clark (Tauranga, New Zealand) and Evelyne Tiron (Bucharest, Romania) topping Cornell's Fatima El Ashram and Maria Adiaconitei, 6-1, on the third court. Grace Eland (Manchester, England) and Laura Pellicer Perello (Gandia, Valencia, Spain) secured the lead with a win against Michelle Deng and Katherine Nguyen, 6-3.
 
With a 1-0 advantage in hand, the Bulls earned their first singles point with a court one victory by Amelie Boy (Trianon, Mauritius) over Valerie Ho in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2.
 
Freshman Margriet Timmermans (Bergen Op Zoom, Netherlands), extended South Florida's lead with a court-six win, 6-1, 7-6, over Khary Pryce.
 
Alexandria Mjos (Austin, Texas), clinched the match for USF in straight sets, 7-5, 6-2, against El Ashram on court 4.
 
Lucia Garrigues (Valencia, Spain) beat Michelle Deng in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5 on court five adding on to the Bulls lead.
 
Perello closed court-two against Ashley Huang, winning 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
 
Cornell tried to rally on court three with Maria Adiaconitei winning the first set 6-3 over Tiron, but she fought back to win the last two sets, 6-0, 6-4, to seal the sweep against Cornell.
 
Quotable
Head coach Cristina Moros on Friday's victory:
"Proud of our team today for being pushed but keeping our composure through some tough moments to get the sweep. This young team showed a lot of promise and looking forward to another battle on Sunday."
 
Match Results:
Singles competition:
1. Amelie Boy (USF) def. Valerie Ho (CORNELL) 6-2, 6-2
2. Laura Perello (USF) def. Ashley Huang (CORNELL) 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
3. Evelyne Tiron (USF) def. Maria Adiaconitei (CORNELL) 3-6, 6-0, 6-4
4. Alexandria Mjos (USF) def. Fatima El Ashram (CORNELL) 7-5, 6-2
5. Lucia Garrigues (USF) def. Michelle Deng (CORNELL) 6-4, 7-5
6. Margriet Timmermans (USF) def. Khary Pryce (CORNELL) 6-1, 7-6
 
Doubles competition:
1. Amelie Boy/Alexandria Mjos (USF) vs. Valerie Ho/Ashley Huang (CORNELL) 5-3, unfinished
2. Grace Eland/Laura Perello (USF) def. Michelle Deng/Katherine Nguyen (CORNELL) 6-3
3. Janvhi Clark/Evelyne Tiron (USF) def. Fatima El Ashram/Maria Adiaconitei (CORNELL) 6-1
 
Match Notes:
Cornell 0-1 University of South Florida 1-0 Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (1,6,4,2,5,3) Official: Kim Bonk T-2:30 A-75
 
Up Next:
USF will host Stetson on Sunday at noon at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts. Team will also be honoring late Team IMPACT teammate, Elizabeth Jones with pre-match ceremony. Admission is free, and fans can enjoy free pizza.

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