PENSACOLA, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern women's tennis team begins its quest to attain the program's first-ever appearance in the NCAA National Championships on Friday afternoon. The Sharks open play as the fourth seed in the NCAA South Regional on their third 2021 meeting with fifth-seeded Saint Leo at 3:00 p.m. ET (2:00 p.m. CT) at West Florida's Ralph "Skeeter" Carson Tennis Complex.
Ranking third in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) national rankings, the Sharks are 9-2 with both losses to top-seeded, No. 2 ranked Barry. NSU finished as Sunshine State Conference Runner-up and head into their second consecutive NCAA postseason. The Saint Leo Lions rank eighth nationally. NSU defeated the Lions in their second match of the year, 5-2 in Saint Leo, later toppling SLU in the opening round of the SSC Championships at home, 4-0. NSU has emerged victorious in the past three meetings with SLU.
The Sharks are fresh off receiving a bevy of All-SSC awards, including SSC Coach of the Year for
Doug Neagle and SSC Athlete of the Year from 10th-ranked sophomore
Natalie Espinal. In addition, 17th-ranked junior
Karolina Snita earned first team singles, junior
Chantal Nosievici garnered first team doubles while partnering with Espinal in the nation's second-ranked pair. Nosievici and 19th-ranked senior
Daniela Obando were singles second teamers, while Obando joined senior partner
Isabella Lowrey on second-team doubles. Snita is the record-leader on court two for the Sharks at 8-1 while Espinal is 8-3 at the first court and second-year freshman
Celia Montero Estevan is 8-3 on six. With Obando on three and Nosievici on four, both have a 7-1 record on the year. Junior
Diane Follin-Arbelet rounds out the regular lineup at 6-3 on five. In doubles, Snita and Follin-Arbelet stand out at 7-3, while Espinal and Nosievici are 6-3 with five nationally-ranked matches and Obando/Lowrey are 6-1.
For the Lions, Celina Ermann earned SSC Freshman of the Year, while Molly Helgesson earned first-team singles honors (also partnering with Lavinia Lancellotti for second-team doubles) and 2020 All-American Marta Vicens Miquel garnered second-team singles. Ermann and Helgesson paced SLU at 8-1 and 8-3, respectively. Vicens Miquel and Nina Furmaniak follow at 6-3 and 6-4. At 14-15 on the year, doubles have proved a challenging point for the Lions' rotation – while the Sharks are 22-9 in pairs.
ANTICIPATED MATCHUPS
Singles
S1: No. 10
Natalie Espinal (8-3) vs. No. 4 Molly Helgesson (8-3)
S2. 2: No. 17
Karolina Snita (8-1) vs. Marta Vicens Miquel (6-3)
S3: No. 19
Daniela Obando (7-1) vs. Nina Furmaniak (6-4)
S4:
Chantal Nosievici (7-1) vs. Lavinia Lancellotti (5-4)
S5:
Diane Follin-Arbelet (6-3) vs. Celina Ermann (8-1)
S6:
Celia Montero Estevan (8-3) vs. Takhmina Zhanatova (1-1)
Doubles
D1: No. 2 Espinal/Nosievici (6-4) vs. No. 15 Helgesson/Lancellotti (6-4)
D2: Obando/Lowrey (6-1) vs. Furmaniak/Zhanatova (6-4)
D3: Snita/Follin-Arbelet (7-3) vs. Vicens Miquel/Ermann (5-4)
COVERAGE
2021 NCAA Division II Women's South Regional Championship Central
Digital Championships Program
NCAA DII Women's South Regional Bracket
Live Streaming Video: NSU vs. SLU
Live Scoring/Statistics
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