Box Score MATCH RESULTS
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The No. 7 Nova Southeastern University tennis team opened its 2016 spring season at home versus the defending NCAA Division II national champs, No. 1 Armstrong State University, on Friday, Feb.12. Although the Sharks had an outstanding performance, the final score was 6-3 in favor of the Pirates.
The Sharks started off strong by winning two of the three doubles matches. The No. 1 doubles team,
Petra Jurova (Sr., Bratislava, Slovakia) and
Sabrina Kierberg (Sr., Munich, Germany), overcame the Pirates 8-4; the No. 2 team of
Klaudia Boczova (Jr., Bratislava, Slovakia) and
Carlee Rizzolo (Sr., Livingston, N.J.) had a narrow loss of 8-6, and the No. 3 combination –
Irina Constantinide (Sr., Galati, Romania) and
Nastassia Rubel (Jr., Minsk, Belarus) – won their match 8-5.
The DII national champs were not ready to drop their winning streak in their first game of 2016 to the No. 7 Sharks. In singles play, the Pirates countered by winning five of the six singles matches taking the overall win. Boczova, as the top seed, was victorious, finishing 6-3, 6-0. Rubel was also very close to clinching her singles match but dropped the tiebreaker in the end, 5-7, 6-3 (7-10).
Head coach
Stephen Schram shared his postgame comments by saying, "This was a great first match against a very good team. We have things to work on and I feel confident we will get better."
The Sharks will now have a couple of weeks to prepare for their next opponent, Palm Beach Atlantic. The competition will take place at the NSU Tennis Complex on Friday, Feb. 26 at 2:00 p.m.
