FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The No. 10 Nova Southeastern University tennis team goes out of conference to play three neutral-site matches this week at the Spring Break Sports Tournament in Orlando.
The Sharks (6-0, 3-0 SSC) have taken care of four ranked opponents in six spring matches, including most recently the No. 3 team in the nation according to the ITA, Saint Leo. On the Lions' home courts, they prevailed Sunday, 5-4.
Petra Jurova (Jr., Bratislavia, Slovakia) and
Irina Constantinide (Jr., Galati, Romania) combined for a doubles victory, and each took their respective singles matches on Sunday as well. Jurova is 6-0 in both categories thus far, with Constantinide hitting that mark in singles play. Also winning their sixth doubles match in as many chances was the duo of
Alexandra Johansson (Sr., Sydney, Australia) and
Alex Kaeser (So., Woodstock, Ga.).
Play begins on Tuesday with the Sharks taking on Saginaw Valley State for an 11:30 a.m. first serve at the Fort Gatlin Recreation Complex. The following day, at 3:30 p.m., it's NSU vs. Detroit Mercy at the Star Island Resort and Tennis Club, and the event wraps up for NSU Thursday morning at Sanlando Park with their final opponent being Grand Valley State, beginning at 10:30 a.m.
Both Saginaw Valley and Grand Valley are DII schools, part of the GLIAC (Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference). SVSU is 6-10 this season, but has had just one spring match, a 7-2 win over Aquinas. Their No. 1 singles player is Izabella Ismailova with a 5-8 mark. Their top doubles record comes from the No. 3 combination of Shea Donahue and Lauren Sharp, 9-3 in that slot and 10-4 overall.
Detroit Mercy is a Division I institution with a 6-5 spring record, coming into the event having won their last three matches (against Northern Kentucky, Northern Iowa and Chicago State). Sasha Nionova has had the most matches in their top singles draw with a record of 2-7. No. 4 Anna Davydova is 8-3 on the year.
GVSU has a mark of 15-3 and are ranked No. 39 in all of DII and third in the Midwest Region. In the ITA preseason rankings, Leah Dancz was rated No. 11 in the Midwest, and two doubles teams were in the top 10: Dancz and Kali Phillips in seventh and Carola Orna and Alexa Sweeney 10th. Dancz has a 6-9 singles mark in the top slot. She and Phillips are 9-6 as the No. 1 doubles team, Orna and Sweeney are 14-2 in No. 2.
Follow along here on NSUSharks.com, and on Twitter @NSUSharks during the week for all the results from Orlando.
