Box Score Match ResultsST. LEO, Fla. – The No. 4 Nova Southeastern University tennis team fell in the semifinal round at the Sunshine State Conference championship, 5-1 on Friday to No. 5 Saint Leo.
The second-seeded Sharks (18-2) lost the first doubles match, in the third draw, before battling back to tie the match. The No. 2 combination of
Alexandra Johansson (Sr., Sydney, Australia) and
Alex Kaeser (So., Woodstock, Ga.) defeated their counterparts 8-5 to draw even.
In the top flight,
Petra Jurova (Jr., Bratislava, Slovakia) and
Irina Constantinide (Jr., Galati, Romania) battled back from a 7-5 deficit to force a tiebreaker, but were eventually upended, 9-7. That gave the Lions a 2-1 advantage heading into singles.
Saint Leo (18-4) took three straight-set victories (at No. 6, No. 3 and No. 5) to advance, with the remainder of the matches ending at that point. Jurova was leading 6-0, 2-3 in the No. 1 slot, Constantinide was up 7-6 with the second set just beginning in No. 2, and No. 4
Carlee Rizzolo (Jr., Livingston, N.J.) was tied heading into her third set, 6-1, 1-6, but all of that became moot as the semifinal concluded.
The Lions move on to Saturday's conference championship against No. 2 (and top-seeded) Barry. The Sharks will now wait to learn their possible postseason fate this upcoming Tuesday, April 28 during the NCAA Selection Show at 8 p.m. Fans can follow along at
THIS LINK.
