PEMBROKE, NC - Nationally ninth-ranked singles player Tereza
Sykorova battled back from a 5-2 deficit in the second set to
finish off a straight-set victory over Linda Tatala-Colin at No. 1
singles and give eighth-ranked Francis Marion University a 9-0
sweep of UNC Pembroke in Peach Belt Conference women's tennis
action, Thursday afternoon (Feb. 26) at Varsity Courts.
The setback was the third-straight for the Braves (4-3, 1-3) who
finished off a grueling stretch of three-straight matches against
nationally ranked competition. The win was the fifth-straight
triumph for Francis Marion (6-1, 4-0) whose only loss of the season
came at the hands of NCAA Division I member Presbyterian earlier
this month.
Tatala-Colin, playing with a nagging foot injury suffered in
UNCP's match at GCSU on Saturday, had plenty of fight in her
throughout her bout with Sykorova, often forcing the junior into
unforced errors, but Sykorova shook off the upset bid to post a
6-3, 7-5 triumph. The bout, which lasted nearly 90 minutes, lasted
far longer than the other four singles matches which preceded it.
Valeska Ibscher won 12 consecutive games to register a 6-0, 6-0
victory over Meredith Pierson on court No. 4, while two other
Patriots yielded just one game in posting straight-set wins as
well. Kristyna Horakova battled back and forth at No. 2 singles,
but still tallied a 6-0, 6-1 triumph over Jenna McGary, while
Saskia Ludwig mirrored the performance on court No. 6 with a 6-0,
6-1 win over Maricel Quintero Prieto.
Christian Minnick fell 6-2 and 6-0 to Jitka Gavdunova at No. 3
singles and Sabina Baberadova fell in three games, but came out
with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Janna Oxendine on court No. 5.
The Patriots allowed just four games in sweeping through the
doubles competition as well. Gavdunova/Horakova shut out UNCP's No.
2 doubles tandem of Minnick and Quintero Prieto, 8-0, while
Oxendine/Pierson fell to Ludwig/Baberadova, 8-1, at No. 3 doubles.
FMU's eighth-ranked duo of Ibscher and Sykorova actually trailed
3-2 early in their No. 1 singles bout, but won six-straight games
to churn out the 8-3 triumph over Tatala-Colin/McGary.
With a chance of rain forecasted for this weekend, Francis
Marion's home match against Columbus State University on Sunday and
a neutral site match against 21st-ranked Barry University on Monday
have both been postponed. The match against CSU will be made
up on March 18 at FMU.
The Patriots will host Barton College on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.
