No. 9 Eagles Hold Off No. 15 Northwood in Conference Tournament Semis
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The second-seeded Embry-Riddle women’s tennis team secured a spot in the championship match of the 2013 Sun Conference tournament courtesy of a 5-4 win over No. 3 Northwood, Saturday at the Crotty Tennis Complex. Ranked ninth in the NAIA, the Eagles improved their overall record to 10-9 and advanced to play for the conference tournament title on Sunday, while 15th-ranked Northwood falls to 7-7 on the year.
With the threat of rain in the area, both sides agreed to play the singles matches first, rather than the traditional doubles-first format. Giovanna Tomiotto registered the first point for the Eagles, topping Livia Toth 6-3, 6-2 at the fourth spot. Meena Bennett extended the lead to 2-0 with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Melanie Snowberger at the sixth spot and Kristina Marova made it a three-point advantage with a 6-2, 6-2 defeat of Valentina Souki on court two. The Seahawks were able to cut into the deficit, however, as Justyna Wojcik bested Hui-I Huang 6-0, 6-4 and Adelaide Wood topped Paola Montero 6-4, 6-2 to make it 3-2.
At No. 5 singles, Northwood’s Julie Ferraz notched a 6-1 win over Ana Gonzalez-Hoy, but the ERAU freshman fought back to take the second set 6-4, forcing a third-set tiebreaker. Gonzalez-Hoy fell behind early and was unable to make up the deficit as Ferraz took the third 6-4 to tie the team score at 3-3 going into doubles.
The Eagles reclaimed the lead when Marova and Huang downed Wojcik and Wood 8-2 at the top flight doubles. The Seahawks tied things up again when Souki and Toth teamed up for an 8-3 win over Tomiotto and Montero at the second position.
Once again all eyes were on Gonzalez-Hoy’s court, this time as she partnered with Bennett in doubles play. The Eagle duo took a 4-1 lead to open the match, but Northwood’s Ferraz and Snowberger rallied to win five games in a row for a 6-4 lead. Bennett and Gonzalez-Hoy then completed their own rally, winning the next five games to take the match and clinch Eagles’ victory.
The Eagles and the Bees will do battle for the conference tournament title for the third time in as many seasons. Sunday’s title match is slated for a 10 a.m. start.