South Florida Women’s Tennis Falls in Tight Battle with VCU Wednesday
A 4-3 loss to the No. 50-ranked Rams came down to tight singles matches.
TAMPA (March 9, 2022) – The University of South Florida women’s tennis team fell to No. 50 VCU, 4-3, in a tightly contested match Wednesday at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts.
The Rams gained the early lead, clinching the doubles point by taking two of three matches. VCU’s Laura Garcia and Paola Exposito won 6-4 over USF’s Grace Schumacher and Margriet Timmermans on Court 2.
Then the newly paired USF tandem of Laura Pellicer and Selin Yaylali fell to the Rams’ Nina Sorkin and Yelizaveta Karlova in another close 6-4 match on Court 3 as VCU claimed the doubles point.
The Bulls’ Sierra Berry and teammate Amelie Boy were tied 5-5 in their match on Court 1 when VCU clinched the doubles and the match was suspended.
USF’s Pellicer won the first singles point by dominating VCU’s Gabriela Davidescu 6-1 in the first set and taking the second set 6-4 on Court 3.
Timmermans fought hard on Court 5, but lost to VCU’s Anja Draskovic 6-4, 6-1.
On Court 6, Yaylali defeated the Ram’s Garcia 7-6 in the first set, winning a 7-4 tiebreaker. Yaylali then posted a swifter, 6-3 victory in the second set to tie the team score at 2-2.
Boy came close in the first set on Court 4, but was ultimately defeated 7-6 by VCU’s Sorkin. Sorkin then took the second set 6-2 to give VCU a 3-2 lead.
Berry continued her impressive rookie campaign for USF. She claimed her first set 6-4 before losing the second 6-2 to VCU’s Karlova on Court 2. The USF freshman rebounded to win the third set 7-6, with a 7-2 tiebreaker victory, to bring her record to 7-4 on the year and 5-2 on Court 2 this season.
With the match tied 3-3, it all came down to Court 1 where Schumacher had won her last three matches that went to completion. The Bulls’ freshman fell in a tight first set 7-6, losing a 7-3 tiebreaker, to Exposito, but made an incredible comeback in the second set. Trailing 5-1, Schumacher rallied to claim a 7-6 victory following 7-4 tiebreaker win. The Bull battled in a nail-biting last set, but fell 6-4 as Exposito secured the winning point for VCU.
RESULTS
Doubles:
Boy/Berry (USF) vs. Davidescu/Manjanna (VCU), Tied 5-5 (Match Suspended)
Garcia/Exposito (VCU) def. Schumacher/Timmermans (USF), 6-4
Sorkin/Karlova (VCU) def. Pellicer/Yaylali (USF), 6-4
Singles:
Paola Exposito (VCU) def. Grace Schumacher (USF), 7-6, 6-7, 6-4
Sierra Berry (USF) def. Yelizaveta Karlova (VCU), 6-4, 2-6, 7-6
Laura Pellicer (USF) def. Gabriela Davidescu (VCU), 6-1, 6-4
Nina Sorkin (VCU) def. Amelie Boy (USF), 7-6, 6-1
Anja Draskovic (VCU) def. Margriet Timmermans (USF), 6-4, 6-1
Selin Yaylali (USF) def. Laura Garcia (VCU), 7-6, 6-3
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About Women’s Tennis
Be sure to follow USF women’s tennis on social media (Twitter / Facebook / Instagram) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information. Head coach Cristina Moros will be in her seventh year at the helm, as she led the program to an American Athletic Conference Championship in 2017.
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