GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The second-seeded Florida State women’s tennis team (19-8) advanced to the Gainesville regional final after defeating UNF (17-8) 4-0. The Seminoles will take on the winner of the Florida vs. Youngstown State match as they are hunting for a spot in the sweet 16.
“Today was a good day for the Noles,” said head coach Jennifer Hyde. “I was very pleased with how the girls set the tone in doubles, and that tone carried on throughout the match. UNF did a good job of creating some adversity for us today, and that is exactly what we needed to prepare for tomorrow’s rematch with Florida. Those first-round jitters are gone and now we can really narrow our focus for the next battle ahead of us. We are pumped, and more importantly, we are ready, for tomorrow’s opportunity to advance to the Sweet 16.”
The day got started with a dominating doubles win by the Noles. Senior Gabby Castaneda and freshman Petra Hule combined to get a 6-1 win on court three. The pair took a 1-0 lead before UNF tied it up at one. The Seminoles went on to win the next five games to take the court 6-1. Sophomore Carla Touly and junior Ariana Rahmanparast combined to get a 6-2 win on court one to clinch the doubles point. They jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead before the Ospreys brought it to 5-2. Touly and Rahmanparast finished off UNF for their 13 doubles win together this spring.
Hule was the first to get off of the court in singles, giving Florida State a 2-0 lead. She exchanged points with Eva Nyikos in the first before taking the last two games and the first set 6-4. Hule dominated the second set, not letting up a point on her way to a 6-0 win.
Sophomore Andrea Garcia extended the lead to 3-0 as she made easy work on court six. After jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first she surrendered her only point of the set, winning it 6-1. Garcia took down Florencia Rossi 6-1 in the second set as well.
Touly finished off the Ospreys on court one with a straight-set win. She was down 5-2 in the first set before storming back to force a tiebreaker in the first set. Touly went on to win the tiebreak and took that momentum into the second set, which she won 6-2.
The Seminoles will take on the winner of Florida and Youngstown tomorrow at 4 p.m. for a spot in the sweet 16.
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#21 Florida State 4, North Florida 0
Singles competition
- #19 Carla Touly (FS) def. Rafaela Gomez (UNF) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
- #122 Petra Hule (FS) def. Eva Nyikos (UNF) 6-4, 6-0
- Gabriella Castaneda (FS) vs. Lucia Montaño (UNF) 4-6, 6-3, unfinished
- Julia Mikulski (FS) vs. Luise Intert (UNF) 5-7, 4-0, unfinished
- Ariana Rahmanparast (FS) vs. Valentina Mariotto (UNF) 6-0, 6-7 (5-7), unfinished
- Andrea Garcia (FS) def. Florencia Rossi (UNF) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles competition
- #56 Carla Touly/Ariana Rahmanparast (FS) def. Rafaela Gomez/Luise Intert (UNF) 6-2
- Julia Mikulski/Andrea Garcia (FS) vs. Lucia Montaño/Eva Nyikos (UNF) 4-3, unfinished
- Gabriella Castaneda/Petra Hule (FS) def. Florencia Rossi/Valentina Mariotto (UNF) 6-1
Match Notes:
North Florida 17-8
Florida State 19-8; National ranking #21
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (2,6,1)
