Tennis Drops 6-1 Contest to C-USA Foe FIU

MIAMI – Anna Smith improved to 6-4 during dual match play by winning her second straight singles match but the FIU Panthers (4-4, 2-0 C-USA) defeated the Marshall women's tennis team (2-8, 0-2 C-USA) Friday, 6-1.

"It was a nice win for Anna today," head coach John Mercer said. "It's good to see her putting together some very strong wins."

Marshall played better than it had in previous matches during doubles play but FIU ultimately captured the doubles point with a pair of 6-3 wins at the Nos. 1 and 2 spots. Matilde Mulatero and Victoria Walter were trailing 5-4 in the other doubles match, which went unfinished.

Smith's singles win was the lone point for the Herd, but most of the matches were fairly close. Victoria Walter was defeated by Kamila Umarova, 6-3, 6-1, while Matilde Mulatero fell to Maria Turillo, 6-2, 6-2. Daniela Dankanych fell in the clinching match, 6-1, 6-2, while Liz Stefancic lost 6-3, 6-3. Madi Ballow lost 7-5, 6-3 in the other singles match dropped by the Herd.

Smith took the first set against Maryna Veksler, 7-5, and had a 1-0 lead in the second set when FIU decided to abandon the match, which by technicality counts as a win by retirement for Smith.

RESULTS
Singles
1. Anna Smith (MAR) def. Veksler,Maryna (FIU) 7-5, 1-0, retired
2. Umarova,Kamila (FIU) def. Victoria Walter (MAR) 6-3, 6-1
3. Akbas,Basak (FIU) def. Daniela Dankanych (MAR) 6-1, 6-2
4. Bozinovic,Sandra (FIU) def. Madi Ballow (MAR) 7-5, 6-3
5. Bakaite,Paulina (FIU) def. Liz Stefancic (MAR) 6-3, 6-3
6. Turrillo,Maria (FIU) def. Matilde Mulatero (MAR) 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish: 2,6,3,1,5,4
Doubles
1. Akbas,Basak/Umarova,Kamila (FIU) def. Anna Smith/Daniela Dankanych (MAR) 6-3
2. Bozinovic,Sandra/Turrillo,Maria (FIU) def. Madi Ballow/Liz Stefancic (MAR) 6-3
3. Veksler,Maryna/Bakaite,Paulina (FIU) vs. Victoria Walter/Matilde Mulatero (MAR) 5-4, unfinished
Order of finish: 2,1

UP NEXT
The Herd remains in Miami for a neutral-site Conference USA match against North Texas Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

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Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Madi Ballow

Daniela Dankanych

Matilde Mulatero

Anna Smith

Liz Stefancic

Victoria Walter