Match Details
South Florida 4, Northwestern 3
South Florida (4-4), Northwestern (4-5)
Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023 | Noon
Tampa, Fla. | USF Varsity Tennis Courts
 
TAMPA (Feb. 26, 2023) – The University of South Florida women's tennis team came from behind after trailing Northwestern, 3-0, to defeat the Wildcats, 4-3, in a thriller at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts on Sunday afternoon. The win, the Bulls' second-straight, improves them to 4-4 on the year while Northwestern drops to 4-5.
 
The Wildcats jumped out on top of South Florida quickly in doubles action, 6-3 on court one and 6-2 on court two, to take the point and the early lead, 1-0.
 
Northwestern then pushed the advantage to 3-0 taking courts three and four, however, the Wildcats started to get tested by the Green and Gold. Laura Pellicer found herself in a battle on court three before falling 3-6, 6-7 (8) which included a hard-fought second-set tiebreaker. Freshman Ireland Simme then pushed her match to three sets on court four, 4-6, 6-3, 4-6, but couldn't close it out in the end.
 
Sierra Berry eventually turned the tides for South Florida getting the Bulls on the board with a thrilling win on court one. Berry dropped the first set, 4-6, but came roaring back winning 6-3 in both the second and third sets to cut the Northwestern lead to 3-1.  

Not long after, a pair of newcomers leveled the match at three-all to make it a whole new match. Freshman Cliona Walsh put together her own thriller on court six. Like Berry, Walsh fell in the first set, 4-6, but re-grouped to come back in sets two and three, 6-3, 7-5, respectively. Then Mississippi State transfer, Marta Falceto Font had to endure two tiebreakers in her three-set affair before taking court five. Falceto Font dropped the first, 6-7 (5), before coming back with a decisive 6-3 win in the second and then a 7-6 victory – with a commanding 7-1 performance in the tiebreaker – in the third set.
 
That left it up to Grace Schumacher on court two to secure the win for the Bulls. After falling 2-6 in the first set, Schumacher dominated the second 6-2, leading to a marathon third set. Trailing 5-6 in the third, Schumacher clawed her way back to level the match at 6-6 forcing a tiebreaker. She eventually secured the win, taking the tiebreaker 8-6.   

Quotable – South Florida Head Coach Cristina Moros
"Hard to put into words what happened out there. While we went down early, I felt like we were right there with them. We just were not winning the valued points in the beginning. That started to turn for us in the second set and we were able to turn it in our favor towards the end. This team has put in a lot of mental work this year and we counted on that to get us through against an extremely tough Northwestern team."
 
Up Next
South Florida continues its three-match homestand when it faces Louisiana Tech on Friday, March 3 and then Toledo on Sunday, March 5. Both matches will start at noon at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts.
 
Doubles
1. Briana Crowley/Sydney Pratt (NU) def. Grace Schumacher/Margriet Timmermans (USF) 6-3
2. Justine Leong/Christina Hand (NU) def. Sierra Berry/Cliona Walsh (USF) 6-2
3. Kiley Rabjohns/Maria Shusharina (NU) vs. Laura Pellicer/Ireland Simme (USF) 4-4 (Unfinished)
 
Singles
1. Sierra Berry (USF) def. Maria Shusharina (NU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
2. Grace Schumacher (USF) def. Justine Leong (NU) 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (8-6)
3. Christina Hand (NU) def. Laura Pellicer (USF) 6-3, 7-6 (10-8)
4. Briana Crowley (NU) def. Ireland Simme (USF) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
5. Marta Falceto Font (USF) def. Sydney Pratt (NU) 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 7-6 (7-1)
6. Cliona Walsh (USF) def. Kiley Rabjohns (NU) 4-6, 6-3, 7-5
 
Order of finish: Singles (3,4,1,6,5,2)
 
About Women's Tennis
Be sure to follow USF women's tennis on social media (Twitter / Facebook / Instagram) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information. Head coach Cristina Moros will be in her seventh year at the helm, as she led the program to an American Athletic Conference Championship in 2017.