W. Tennis SU Defeats FGCU 1/8/2015

[CuseLegacy]

Tennis | 1/8/2015 4:54:00 PM |
Tennis Kicks Off Season with a Win
Orange top FGCU 4-3 by winning four of singles sets

The No. 68 Syracuse tennis team opened its season with a win over Florida Gulf Coast (0-1) on Thursday afternoon in Fort Myers, Florida.
The Orange took the match 4-3 by winning four of the six singles matches after the Eagles earned the doubles point.

"Today was a total team effort," said head coach Younes Limam. "The ladies competed extremely well from start to finish. Usually when you do that in any sport good things happen. We are looking forward to the next challenge against USF on Saturday".

Amanda Rodgers defeated Sarah Mearns 6-1, 7-6 (7-5), Valeria Salazar beat Breana Stampfli 6-2, 6-4, Rhiann Newborn topped Johanna Sterkel 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 and Nichole Michell defeated Alex Landert 7-5, 6-2 to seal the victory for 'Cuse.

Komal Safdar lost to Elizaveth Means 3-6, 4-6 for just her third singles loss in her last 15 matches.

Breanna Bachini lost to Julianna Curtis after defaulting following Curtis taking the first set 7-5 (3-4).

In doubles, the No. 59 ranked tandem of Safdar and Salazar proved they were worth of the ranking after taking down Sterkel and Stampfli 6-4. Rodgers and Newborn took their match with Sarah and Elizabeth Means to a tie-break, but fell 6-6 (7-9).

In the third doubles match, Mitchell and Olivia Messineo were beaten by Alex Landert and Curtis 0-6.

The win marked the Orange's first win in an opener since the 2011 season when Syracuse defeated Navy 6-1.

Next up for 'Cuse is its first matchup with a ranked opponent this season, when they take on No. 39 South Florida on Saturday. It'll begin a stretch of three-straight matches against ranked teams.