Boca Raton, Fla.—The UMBC women's tennis team could not
hold on to a 3-1 lead and fell, 4-3, at Florida Atlantic in the
Retrievers' final match of spring break.
FAU improved to 12-10 on the campaign, while UMBC slipped to
8-7.
The Retrievers came out strong in doubles, sweeping all three
contests to take the doubles point. The No. 1 duo of freshman Kim Berghaus
(Offenbach, Germany) and junior Carmen Jackman
(Silver Spring, Md./Blake) blanked Cassie Bergeson/Erika Mrazkova,
8-0 and UMBC secured the point when sophomores Kyri Hadji (West
Sunshine, Australia) and Julia Gregara-Cano (Badajoz, Spain)
defeated Justine Humair and Marlene Ryan, 8-3.
Gregara-Cano gave UMBC a 2-0 lead when she cruised past Natasha
Basma, 6-2, 6-1 at No. 1 singles. FAU won at No. 5 singles, but the
Retrievers earned their third point as Berghaus polished off
Humair, 6-2, 6-2.
But the Retrievers could not finish off the Owls. FAU won a
straight-setter at No. 6 singles, but the last two matches went the
distance. Jackman defeated Ryan, 6-4 in the first set, but fell,
4-6, 6-2, 6-2. UMBC senior Emily Mannix
(Hillsborough, N.J.) also gave the visitors hope when she won her
first set, 6-1, at No. 4 singles, but Virginia Augustin won a
second set tie-breaker, 7-2, and went on to a 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4
victory.
The Retrievers dropped both matches in Florida by 4-3
scores.
UMBC returns to action on Thursday, March 31, when they host the
Richmond Spiders.
