ORLANDO, Fla. – Southeastern University won doubles play, but NCAA DII Rollins College took five of the singles matches for a 5-2 women's tennis final.
Tied at 1-1, Carlotta Nonnis Marzano and Irene Lopez outlasted Rollins' Nancy Liu and Milla Falster by a 7-5 tally for the doubles point. The Tars won the first four singles matches for the team win, but Irene Parigi captured the other Fire win in a 3-set fourth singles victory.
SEU saw its five-match win streak snapped with the loss, as they dropped to 7-3. The Fire had two of those three defeats come against NCAA DII competition. Rollins College won its sixth match in a row and are also 7-3.
The SEU third doubles pair of Neleah Neiberline and Alessia Ciampi made it possible for the visitors to take the doubles point. The Fire pair took care of the Tars' Nina Mitrofanova/Stella Fruijtier, 6-1 score. Rollins tied the doubles with an Amina Taibi/Amina Abduellova win over Parigi/Isabella Bolivar Garces, 6-2, in second position.
With the first four singles completed, Parigi won the first set at fourth singles, 6-2, over Mitrofanova. The Rollins player tied the match with a 6-4 second set, but Parigi rebounded for the match win in the third set, 6-2.
Neiberline and Lopez took their opponents to the limit at third and sixth singles. Polina Vlasova edged the first set over Neiberline in the tiebreaker 7-6 (7-3) and held on for a second tight set, 6-4.
Lopez grabbed the opening sixth set by a 6-4 final over Abduellova. The Tars' player, though, came back for the next two sets (6-2 and 6-3) to take the match.
Bolivar Garces pushed Rollins' Taibi in the first set, but fell in the end, 5-7, and then dropped the second set, 2-6, in second singles.
Fruijtier helped Rollins take the fifth singles over Ciampi (6-3 and 6-0) and Liu garnered the top singles nod (6-2, 6-3) over Nonnis Marzano.
SEU returns to action on Wednesday at home with two matches – 10:30 a.m. vs. NCAA III Oglethorpe University and at 2 p.m. vs. NCAA DI Bucknell University at Beerman Tennis Complex.
