March 16, 2001

BOCA RATON, FL -

Despite a rain delay of nearly three hours, Florida Atlantic University hung on to defeat visiting Columbia University, 4-3, Friday in Boca Raton. The win was the Lady Owls' fourth straight and improved the team to 7-9 on the year. It's FAU's longest winning streak in four years.

FAU took over seven hours to dispose of Columbia, which included the inclement weather and a three-set thriller won by Maria Aguirre-Gomez at no. 2 that clinched the match early in the eighth hour. The Lady Owls started off by winning two of three doubles matches to take an early 1-0 lead. Kristen Jordan and Jessica Burrow teamed to win for the 13th time this season and the eighth time at no. 2 doubles.

Early on in singles play, rain forced both teams to wait nearly three hours before resuming. Jordan, ranked 59th in the nation, was the first to claim a victory with a 6-0, 6-0 win at no. 1 over CU's Etel Bugescu. After suffering losses at no. 5 and no. 6, FAU earned a split from the no. 3 and no. 4 spots to keep the match tied at 3-3.

Meanwhile, Aguirre-Gomez was trailing CU's Melissa Nguyen 6-5 in the second set after dropping the first set. She forced a tiebreaker which she won 7-5 to send the match into the decisive third set. The freshman defeated Nguyen 6-2 in the final frame to seal the victory for the Lady Owls.

FAU next hosts Army Monday at 9:00am.

Singles

1. #59-Kristen Jordan (FAU) d. Etel Bugescu (CU) 6-0, 6-0.

2. Maria Aguirre-Gomez (FAU) d. Melissa Nguyen (CU) 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2.

3. Tania Rivera (FAU) d. Shelly Mittal (CU) 7-6(5), 6-0.

4. Leena Krishnaswamy (CU) d. Gabriela Spear (FAU) 6-2, 6-2.

5. Ilene Weintraub (CU) d. Stephanie Beaulieu (FAU) 6-2, 7-5.

6. Andrea Lauer (CU) d. Michelle Tulman (FAU) 6-3, 6-4.

Doubles

1. Aguirre-Gomez/Rivera (FAU) d. Mittal/Nguyen (CU) 8-5.

2. Jessica Burrow/Jordan (FAU) d. Laila Shetty/Weintraub (CU) 8-0.

3. Bugescu/Krishnaswamy (CU) d. Beaulieu/Tulman (FAU) 9-8(6)