Complete Results
MOBILE, Ala. - University of South Alabama freshman Michaela Meszarosova (Bratislava, Slovakia) rallied 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3) at No. 2 singles to secure the match in the Jaguars’ 4-3 win over Florida International Friday at the Bruce David Lubel Memorial Courts.
USA improved to 4-0 in their spring campaign for the first time since 2008, while FIU dropped to 0-4 overall.
“This is a tough win,” said USA head coach Jaco Keyser. “For about 75 percent of the match we played phenomenal. There towards the end we tightened up a little bit -I wouldn’t say we played scared- but we had a breakdown in our fundamentals that put us in a tough spot.”
Meszarosova pulled out the win for South Alabama when she held off four match points against Rita Maisak to break the 3-3 tie. Meszarosova jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the tiebreaker before finishing it off 7-3.
“I think Michaela competed extremely well,” said Keyser. “She played an unbelievable first set, struggled a little bit in the second and third sets, but it’s nice to see a freshman, with the match on the line, just be able to grit her teeth a little bit and compete.”
With the Jaguars up 3-2, Guiletta Boha edged freshman Cinta Maria Papke (Flein, Germany) 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 on the No. 4 court to tie the match at 3-3.
Carlotta Orlando got the Panthers on the board early when she snapped sophomore Emily Newton’s (Dothan, Ala.) 20-match win streak with a 6-2, 6-3 victory at No. 1.
Sophomores Mary Angela Martin (Mobile,Ala.) and Mariya Krachok (Kiev, Ukraine) picked up two points for USA with straight-sets wins. Krachok defeated Lotte Gras 6-0, 6-4 at the No. 5 spot, followed by Martin’s 6-3, 6-2 win over Magali Holt at No. 6.
“It’s good to see wins like that at the lower positions,” said Keyser. “I feel like we’re a very deep team. We have 7 and 8 sitting out today and could plug them in at any time. In order for us to be a good team, hopefully we can continue that trend.”
Aleksandra Trifunovic earned FIU’s second point of the day, topping sophomore Ramona Ghermani (Bad Wimpfen, Germany) 6-3, 6-3 in the No. 3 flight.
“Historically FIU is a great program,” said Keyser. “I think they’ve won the Sun Belt five our out of seven years. They’re a good program with good players; they know how to win and stay around in matches.”
In doubles action, Martin teamed up with Papke to blank Gras and Holt 8-0 at No. 3. Krachok and Ghermani secured the doubles point for USA with an 8-3 win over Boha and Orlando at No. 2.
South Alabama will be back in action Sunday when they host North Texas at 11 a.m.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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