April 3, 2005

BOCA RATON, FL - Florida Atlantic University was defeated by Florida International University, 7-0, Sunday afternoon in non-conference women's tennis action in Boca Raton, FL. FIU entered the contest ranked no. 42 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association and handed the Owls only their second shutout of the season.

FIU (15-4) won all three doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead over FAU (6-10). In singles, the Golden Panthers won all but one of the six matches in straight sets. Wins at no. 3, 6, and 4 quickly secured the victory for the Golden Panthers.

After two more wins to make it 6-0, the only question was whether FAU's Alena Dvorakova, ranked no. 98, could defeat no. 35 Paula Zabala at no. 1. Zabala won the first set 6-4 and led the second set 4-3 with the serve before Dvorakova came back to win three straight games to force a super-tiebreaker in set three. Trailing 7-2, Zabala rallied for a 10-8 victory in the decisive set, handing Dvorakova her first loss since February 15. Dvorakova finishes the regular season 20-4 overall and 13-2 in dual match play.

Florida Atlantic now sets its sights on the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament, which will take place April 14-17 in DeLand. The Owls will be seeking to do what they did two years ago, when they won their first A-Sun Tournament, advancing to the NCAA Tournament.

No. 42 Florida International 7, Florida Atlantic 0

Singles
1. No. 35 Paula Zabala (FIU) d. No. 98 Alena Dvorakova (FAU) 6-4, 4-6, 10-8
2. Egle Petrauskaite (FIU) d. Katherine Bartnik (FAU) 6-4, 6-2.
3. Nikkita Fountain (FIU) d. Veronika Koksova (FAU) 6-2, 6-0.
4. Shilla D'Armas (FIU) d. Elodie Wendling (FAU) 6-2, 6-2.
5. Desanka Jovanovic (FIU) d. Claudia Kecht (FAU) 6-1, 6-3.
6. Marijana Cutuk (FIU) d. Pia Terol (FAU) 6-2, 6-1.

Doubles
1. Fountain/Zabala (FIU) d. Dvorakova/Wendling (FAU) 8-2.
2. No. 47 Jovanovic/Petrauskaite (FIU) d. Bartnik/Koksova (FAU) 8-6.
3. Bruna Discordia/Courtney Jonson (FIU) d. Kecht/Terol (FAU) 8-3.