PENSACOLA, Fla. – The No. 16 Nova Southeastern tennis team (12-5) wrapped up two matches on a neutral court Saturday, taking down Delta State, 5-0, before falling against the No. 15 Valdosta State Blazers, 5-1 in the nightcap.
In order to fit yesterday's rained-out match into today's schedule, NSU played two first-to-five point matches. Against Delta State, the Sharks went undefeated in doubles play to set up a quick win. In the top flight,
Alex Kaeser (Fr., Woodstock, Ga.) and
Sabrina Kierberg (So., Berlin, Germany) won their match easily, 8-1. In the second draw,
Alexandra Johansson (Jr., Sydney, Australia) and
Carlee Rizzolo (So., Livingston, Ga.) had the closest match but still came out on top, 8-4. In the third,
Juliet Serabian (So., Plantation, Fla.) and
Linda Kornienko (So., Fort Myers, Fla.) were perfect in their victory at 8-0.
NSU only needed two singles wins, and the first two to finish and wrap up the match were Serabian and sophomore
Bianca Roberts (Jr., Tampa, Fla.). Serabian played out of the fourth draw and only dropped one game, winning at 6-0, 6-1. Roberts closed the show in the sixth draw, winning 6-1, 6-3. Kierberg would have been the next to finish in the second flight, as she led 6-3, 3-1 before the match halted.
Against VSU, the Sharks fell behind, 3-0, in doubles play. The second draw of Johansson and Rizzolo gave VSU all they can handle but came up short, falling to the Blazers, 8-6. The top doubles for NSU, Kaeser and Kierberg, as well as the third draw of Serabian and Kornienko, each lost their matches, 8-3.
The Sharks picked up their lone win of the match behind Kierberg's 6-2, 6-0 commanding victory. Valdosta earned their final two wins in No. 1 (6-3, 6-4) and No. 5 (6-2, 6-1) singles play, to hand the Sharks their fifth loss of the year.
NSU will wrap up its time in Pensacola with a pair of matches Sunday, first against Lee University at 8:00 a.m. before taking on the host institution, No. 9 West Florida, at 3:00 p.m.
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