LAKELAND, Fla. -- New faces got the opportunity to shine Tuesday afternoon as the Fire handled business at home, rebounding with a 6-1 victory over NCAA DIII New Paltz.
Looking to bounce back from the loss to Xavier, the Fire returned to some familiar pairings while also giving opportunities to new faces. The duo of Leonie Schondelmaier and Aurora Compagnucci, ranked No. 44 in the NAIA, opened the scoring with a 6-1 win over Justine Stanejko and Sam Ostrander on the top flight.
Charlize Schmidt and Chloe Do Lago made their doubles debut, starting their season 1-0 with a 6-1 win against Olivia Kunz and Patrycja Filonik on line two to clinch the doubles point. New Paltz took line three from Faith Erickson and Isabelle Buhain.
Irene Parigi, Compagnucci, and Schondelmaier rested during singles. But No. 28 Martina Picardi returned to line one, coasting to a 6-0, 6-1 win over Stanejko.
No. 58 Alessia Ciampi followed with a 6-1, 6-1 victory on line three. Do Lago capitalized on her first singles appearance of the season, earning a 6-3, 6-3 win over Filonik on line four to clinch the match.
With the match secured, play continued. Schmidt picked up her first collegiate singles win, defeating Alex Krol 7-5, 6-2 on line five.
No. 75 Isabella Bolivar Garces rallied in both sets on line two, erasing early deficits to defeat Ostrander 7-6 (7-3), 7-5.
New Paltz's lone point came on line six, where Angelica Gabriel completed a comeback in a 10-point tiebreak to defeat Abigail Windham 7-5, 0-6, 12-10.
Southeastern now turns their attention to Senior Day, and the rest of Sun Conference action, starting on April 10th at 1 p.m. with #25 College of Coastal Georgia.
