No. 5 Tennis Takes on No. 7 Lynn Sunday in NCAA South Regional

Sharks look for first NCAA victory in six years against SSC rival

2015 NCAA Tennis Championships, Round of 48
South Region #1 Bracket Semifinals vs. No. 7 Lynn
Sunday, May 3, 2015, 4 PM EST, Pensacola, Fla.
NCAA DII Women's Tennis Guide | UWF Official Tournament Page
NCAA DII Tennis Bracket | Live Statistics

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The No. 5 Nova Southeastern University tennis team will appear in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six years, taking on No. 7 Lynn Sunday afternoon in Pensacola, Florida.

The Sharks (18-2) are the No. 4 seed among the six teams selected to the South Regional, divided among two host sites. They will face Lynn (17-4 and the region's fifth seed), with the winner advancing to Monday to take on top seed and host West Florida (25-3), who earned a bye.

Earlier this season, when NSU was ranked 10th in the country and Lynn was No. 5, the Sharks edged out their rival in Fort Lauderdale, 5-4. In that matchup, the home team overcame a 2-1 doubles deficit, winning four of six singles affairs, clinched by Petra Jurova (Jr., Bratislava, Slovakia) in a 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 decision over Rosie Willig.

Besides Willig (No. 28 in all of DII and No. 11 in the South Region), Lynn also features the SSC Player of the Year, Valentine Confalonieri, ranked No. 2 overall in singles by the ITA. The two of them combine as the No. 6 nationally-ranked doubles combo, No. 3 in the region, and both as individual singles competitors and as a doubles duo achieved First Team All-SSC status.

The Sharks matched Barry for the most conference-wide selections with seven, led by Jurova's First Team singles nod. She and Irina Constantinide (Jr., Galati, Romania), and the pair of Alexandra Johansson (Sr., Sydney, Australia) and Alex Kaeser (So., Woodstock, Ga.), were both Second Team doubles choices; Constantinide and the Sharks' No. 1, Sabrina Kierberg (Jr., Munich, Germany), were each members of Second Team singles.

Nationally in singles, Kierberg is now No. 16 and Jurova is No. 24, while regionally, they are No. 5 and No. 10. Jurova and Constantinide are No. 7 in the South Region in doubles.

The Sharks are looking for their first NCAA Tournament victory since their last national appearance in 2009, the last of the program's five straight postseason nods. On May 7 of that year, they defeated Tuskegee, 5-0.

UWF will offer live stats of the Sharks vs. Lynn HERE. Again, the winner of Sunday's match moves on to the bracket championship on Monday, with an 11 a.m. EST start against the Argos. The prize for the champion is a spot in the DII National Championships as one of the 16 teams left across the nation, beginning May 13 in Surprise, Arizona.

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Players Mentioned

Alexandra Johansson: 6' 0"; Senior

Alex Kaeser: 6' 1"; Sophomore

Sabrina Kierberg: 5' 7"; Junior

Irina Constantinide: 5' 7"; Junior

Petra Jurova: 5' 4"; Junior

Players Mentioned

Alexandra Johansson
: 6' 0"; Senior

Alex Kaeser
: 6' 1"; Sophomore

Sabrina Kierberg
: 5' 7"; Junior

Irina Constantinide
: 5' 7"; Junior

Petra Jurova
: 5' 4"; Junior