Tallahassee, FL – For the third time under head coach Jen Hyde and the second time in the last three NCAA Tournaments, the FSU Women’s Tennis team is headed to the Round of 16. Florida State started strong and then had to fend off a late push by No. 19 Auburn before taking the match 4-1 to move on to Lake Nona with a trip to the quarterfinals up next.
“That was an absolute battle, which is what we expected,” said Hyde. “It didn’t disappoint. I think today we got tougher and we were forced to get tougher by Auburn. They did a fantastic job. They fought so hard but at the end of the day, we fought a little harder at a couple of spots and were able to hang in there a little bit longer in some of the matches. We came up big in a couple different tiebreakers and in doubles. We overcame some deficits and fought our way back in.
“Getting to the Sweet 16, I’ve been doing this a long time, and it is tough. Everybody is good at this point. Being at home, hosting was a tremendous help. It’s not easy and this team absolutely battled today. I think our maturity came through today and the composure the team showed in a really stressful situation. They handled it like rock stars. You have to have those chops and those guts and when we get down to Orlando we are going to have to bring that every single time we step on the court. We got better today for being pushed like that.”
FSU got off to a strong start with a 2-0 win in doubles. Petra Hule and Giulia Pairone, the nation’s 89th-ranked doubles team, came off first with a 6-3 victory on three. FSU’s No. 30 doubles pair of Emmanuelle Salas and Victoria Allen clinched the point for the Seminoles on court one with a 6-2 win over Auburn’s 69th-ranked pair.
The Seminoles got off to a similarly strong start in singles. Victoria Allen, Nandini Das, Allen and Hule all took their first sets. Allen closed out her opponent first with a 6-1, 6-1 win to put FSU in front 2-0. As the match moved into second sets, Auburn started to take the momentum back. Winning on court one and court four and looking like they were going to do the same on three and six as well. FSU’s two longest-tenured seniors, Das and Andrea Garcia, were both forced into tiebreakers in set two. Das looking to secure another point for FSU and not be forced into a third set. Garcia, looking to keep Auburn off the board and to push her match into a third. Both seniors were up 5-4 in the respective tiebreakers and both found a way to win. For Das, it put FSU up 3-1 and just minutes later Hule took her third set to clinch the match.
“I think Dini did a great job fighting back in that second set,” said Hyde. “It is kind of funny that both our ‘super seniors’ were in tiebreakers at the same time in pretty pivotal moments in the match. They both came through and that speaks to their experience and the times they’ve had to step up this entire semester. I was so proud of them for not succumbing to the moment but rather stepping up and facing that challenge head-on.”
Florida State will move on to face Texas A&M in the Round of 16 in Lake Nona, FL. The Aggies (21-7) are the 10th-seed in the NCAA Tournament and advanced with a 4-2 win over No. 21 Northwestern earlier today. The teams will meet Sunday, May 16 with a chance to advance to the national quarterfinals.
“I am so proud of this team,” said Hyde. “The effort they put forth to get to this point. I just can’t emphasize enough how difficult it is. We have now made the Final 16 in two of our last three tournament appearances and I think we are better now than we were two days ago. We are excited to get down to Orlando and continue this journey.”
For more information about the 2021 NCAA Championship or the 2021 Seminole Women’s Tennis program, please follow us on social at FSUWTennis (IG) and @FSU_WTennis (TW) and log on to Seminoles.com.
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SWEET 16 BOUND! - Seminoles.com
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