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Bianco_05182017
2
William Carey WC (18-4)
5
Winner Keiser University KUWT (15-7)
William Carey WC
(18-4)
2
Final
5
Keiser University KUWT
(15-7)
Winner

Match Recap: No. 1 Women's Tennis |

No. 4 Women's Tennis Soars into NAIA Final Four

Match Information
Score: Keiser 5, William Carey 2
Records: No. 4 Keiser (15-7), No. 6 William Carey (18-4)
Location: Mobile, Ala.
Venue: Mobile Tennis Center

Match Summary
The No. 4 Keiser women's tennis squad toppled the sixth-ranked Crusaders today by the final score of 5-2 to advance to the NAIA Women's Tennis Final Four for the first time since 2003 when the Seahawks won the championship. This is the first time under current head coach Daniel Finn that the Seahawks have reached the final four.
 
Doubles
  • Megane Bianco and Julianna Heino displayed dominance in doubles play despite Heino's injury, cruising to the 8-2 victory over 11th-ranked Aleksandra Grela and Jelena Djordan.
  • Teodora Stanciu and Juliana Goncalves doubled the Keiser lead to 2-0 with an 8-5 win in the third doubles spot over Lorena Jimenez and Daria Veretennikova.
  • Samantha Guy and Lorene Foerste capped off doubles play with the sweep, besting Wendy Barsotti and Nataliia Baliaeva, 8-6, from the second doubles slot to give Keiser the 3-0 lead heading into singles.
 
Singles
  • The Crusaders' first point came in the second singles position as Heino was forced to retire due to her injury, trailing 4-0 in the opening set.
  • Bianco quickly made up for the lost point in the top singles position as the junior defeated Djordan, ranked sixth in ITA rankings, 6-1, 6-1 to take a commanding 4-1 advantage.
  • William Carey cut the deficit down to two after Baliaeva upended Guy in straight sets from the No. 4 singles position, 6-3, 6-1.
  • Goncalves clinched the match for the second consecutive day with a 7-5, 6-0 triumph over Barsotti in the number three spot to claim the 5-2 victory, sending Keiser into the final four as she was mobbed by her teammates following the historic win.
 
Coach's Corner
"This was just a phenomenal performance by the ladies," stated Finn. "They came out today and just flat out brought it! The key today was the energy and intensity we played with in doubles which allowed us to get the 3-0 lead. From there the ladies took total control. This was such a team effort today and as a coach that is the thing you pray to see all year, especially in the national tournament when it matters the most. All in all this was an awesome performance by the ladies. We certainly are happy and proud of this one but now we will shift our minds to a great opportunity tomorrow against Georgia Gwinnett in the semifinals."
 
Up Next
Keiser will turn its focus to the final four showdown against No. 1 Georgia Gwinnett tomorrow at 2 p.m. ET at the Mobile Tennis Center.
 
Results
Doubles
  1. #3 Bianco/Heino (KU) def. #11 Grela/Djordan (WC), 8-2
  2. Guy/Foerste (KU) def. Barsotti/Baliaeva (WC), 8-6
  3. Stanciu/Goncalves (KU) def. Jimenez/Vertennikova (WC), 8-5
Singles
  1. #3 Bianco (KU) def. #6 Djordan (WC), 6-1, 6-1
  2. #18 Grela (WC) def. #31 Heino (KU), 4-0 retired
  3. #48 Goncalves (KU) def. Barsotti (WC), 7-5, 6-0
  4. #38 Baliaeva (WC) def. Guy (KU), 6-3, 6-1
  5. Foerste (KU) vs. Kaufman (WC), 6-2, 1-5 unfinished
  6. Stanciu (KU) vs. Jimenez (WC), 4-6, 0-3 unfinished
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