BRADENTON, Fla. – Although the Sharks didn't walk out of IMG Academy with the Sunshine State Conference trophy on Sunday, Nova Southeastern tennis (21-4) finished the SSC Women's Tennis Championships as the league's runner-up for only the second time in program history, after battling Lynn (22-0) to an extremely close finish belied by the 4-0 overall score.
Though the Sharks remain just one victory shy of the season record, NSU heads into the postseason in the upper tier of the South Region rankings, possibly boosted by a defeat of national No. 1 Barry on Saturday. The Sharks will look forward to a locked-in bid to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2016 season.
Doubles
- Battling from behind after the first flight went to Lynn, No. 29 ITA-ranked duo junior Sarah Wardenburg and freshman Natalie Espinal knocked down Federica Mordegan and Eliska Petrackova, 6-2, to knot the doubles match with the second-flight win.
- In No. 3 doubles, junior Isabella Lowrey and Chantal Nosievici kept things close with some tough cross shots, but Giorgia Pigato and Eleonora Liga were able to close out the 6-4 win to record the crucial doubles team point for Lynn.
Singles
- Although the Sharks fell behind early with first and third singles wins to Lynn, it was nothing short of a dogfight down the stretch in the remaining flights.
- After dominating Mordegan in the first set, junior Daniela Obando (No. 3 singles) was right on the verge of victory, ahead 4-2 in the second, while Wardenburg was one point away from forcing a third set (No. 6 singles) against Giorgia Pigato and Nosievici (No. 5 singles) was up 1-0 on Petrackova after a long-battled 6-4 win in the opening set.
- The Fighting Knights closed off the 4-0 win in the second flight as 62nd-ranked Ulyana Grib posted a 6-1, 6-3 win over 28th-ranked Espinal for the third singles win.
Straight From Coach Doug Neagle
Up Next: The Sharks will get some recuperation time as they await news of the field and their first opponent in the NCAA South Regional - due to be announced May 7 at 8:30 p.m. on NCAA.com. The Regional is scheduled to run May 11-14 at a host site to be announced. Entering the SSC tournament, the Sharks were ranked No. 6 nationally and fourth in the South Region.
