BOX SCORE
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The No. 21 Nova Southeastern tennis team (7-11) defeated the No. 23 Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish, 5-4, Saturday at the NSU Tennis Complex.
Prior to the match,
Austin Lavallii (Sr., Williamston, Mich.) was honored for her solid career at NSU during Senior Day celebrations. Lavallii went on to lead the Sharks to a sweep in doubles play. Lavallii teamed with
Sabrina Kierberg (Fr., Berlin, Germany) in the second flight to defeat Natalia Trotter and Leyla Taracena, 8-5. The Sharks won by the same score in the first draw, as sophomore duo
Charlotte Cote (Montreal, Canada) and
Alexandra Johansson (Sydney, Australia) defeated Veena Vasquez and Victoria Baca.
NSU went up by three points with another win in the third flight.
Linda Kornienko (Fr., Fort Myers, Fla.) and
Luisa Pintado (Fr., Guadalajara, Mexico) defeated Vilja Vahatalo and Jessica Wharton, 8-3.
The Sharks went up another point in the sixth singles draw, which ended quickly.
Iryna Serdyuk (Fr., Boca Raton, Fla.) was called upon to step up late and came through, beating Taracena, 6-1, 6-1.
With the Sharks’ two top players out in singles play, several players were forced to move up two spots in the order, making for a tight finish down the stretch. Lavallii played in the third flight and lost to Trotter, 6-3, 6-4. In the second draw, Kornienko lost to Baca, 6-3, 6-2. Cote stepped up into the first draw for the first time this year and faced Vasquez, who is ranked 17th in the country. Cote put up a good fight but ultimately lost, 6-3, 6-0.
Palm Beach Atlantic tied the match at four points apiece, as
Bianca Roberts (So., Tampa, Fla.) fell in the four hole to Vahatalo, 6-1, 6-4. In the fifth draw, Pintado held the entire weight of her team and fans in attendance, which included NSU president Dr. George Hanbury. The freshman came through in the clutch in a very tight match against Wharton, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.
NSU will now look to make a run at the Sunshine State Conference championship at the annual conference tournament in Melbourne, Fla., beginning on April 18.
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