Results

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of South Alabama women's tennis team jumped out to a 3-0 lead but needed a late three-set win from senior Monica Mitta (Fairhope, Ala.) to defeat North Florida 4-3 Sunday afternoon at the UNF Tennis Courts.

The Jaguars win their fifth straight match to improve to 13-4, while the Ospreys drop back to .500 at 7-7.

"What a great day," USA head coach Jaco Keyser said. "Today might be the point in the season where we became a legitimate mentally-tough team. We had bad conditions mixed with not playing great team tennis, but I thought we got in the trenches and competed like crazy."

After winning the doubles point, the Jags tripled their lead after the first two singles matches, with both wins coming in straight sets. Sophomore Alina Zolotareva (Barnaul, Russia) won 6-4, 6-3 over Lucia Montano on court 6, and sophomore Patricia Martins (Lisbon, Portugal) prevailed 6-0, 6-3 at No. 5.

Michelle Valdez staved off elimination on court 1, downing sophomore Alexandria Stiteler (Bradenton, Fla.) 6-2, 6-4, and Quetzali Vazquez followed with a 7-5, 6-1 at No. 3 over senior Laura Valkova (Piestany, Slovakia).

The final two singles matches went the distance. Mitta won the first set but dropped the second. She jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the third, but Rafaela Gomez stayed in the match before finally succumbing 6-3, 4-6, 7-5.

Irina Karangozishvili accounted for the Ospreys' final point of the afternoon, outlasting senior Laura Matsukova (Bratislava, Slovakia) 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (8-6).

"We have had bigger wins than today in the past but as players and coaches, we should take pride in today's effort and realize that this the foundation that we have built our program on and the reason why we might be successful as a team this season and in the future," Keyser added.

The Jaguars won the doubles point with a pair of 6-3 wins at Nos. 1 and 2. Mitta and Stiteler downed Gomez and Montano at No. 2, and Valkova and Martins defeated Luise Intert and Vazquez on court 1.

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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