Score: No. 1 Keiser Seahawks 4, No. 3 Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders 1
Records: No. 1 Keiser (3-0), No. 3 Lindsey Wilson (3-1)
Venue: Rome Tennis Center
Location: Rome, Ga.
No. 1 Keiser women's tennis captured their third ITA NAIA National Women's Team Indoor Championship with a 4-1 win over Lindsey Wilson on Sunday night in Rome, Ga. The Seahawks fell behind after doubles but secured singles wins on courts one, two, three, and five to take the title. Keiser remains unbeaten at the ITA NAIA National Women's Team Indoor Championship, holding a 9-0 record across their three titles.
- No. 2 Violet Apisah and Patricia Apisah were once again done first as they defeated Heyka Rodriguez and Javiera Verdugo 6-1 on court one
- The Blue Raiders got a point back on court three to turn all the eyes to the deciding match on court two
- Down a break, Ella Sahnis and Veronika Grydnieva fought to take the 5-4 lead and serve for the match
- After a few close calls went in favor of Lindsey Wilson, the No. 5-ranked Martina Cortal and Mayra Gisone went on to force a tiebreak before winning 7-6(5) to take the doubles point
- Lena Couto countered early in singles with a dominant 6-1, 6-0 win over No. 32 Trillo on court five to tie the match 1-1
- No. 1 V. Apisah then cruised past No. 41 Gisone 6-1, 6-1 on court one to put Keiser ahead 2-1
- P. Apisah extended the lead with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Mateu on court three to bring the Seahawks within one
- No. 19 Alexandra Melnikova had a few match points go by but was finally able to clinch the championship for the Seahawks, defeating No. 20 Cortal 6-4, 6-3 on court two
- Sahnis was up 6-4, 4-2 against No. 10 Verdugo at the end of the match, while Grydnieva was up 6-0, 5-6 against No. 29 Nguyen on court six
When asked about today's result, Head Coach
Daniel Finn had this to say: "I'm just proud of the girls today. We didn't really come out and play our best to begin. Obviously, it was a little bit of nerves.
We have a brand new team this year with four freshmen, and the nerves were definitely impacting us early on. Credit to Lindsay Wilson; they brought a ton of energy and brought the fight to us early on, but the girls showed a lot of grit and a lot of heart today. That was a team effort. There was a point where we looked up and we were up a set on all six courts. And you know that's done by them just fighting for each other and competing for each other the whole way. I'm really proud of the girls today."
On rallying the team after doubles: "We all huddled up together after losing the doubles point. And the whole coaching staff, not just myself, did a great job of keeping all the girls composed. We went player by player and said, 'Are you good?' 'You're good.' 'I'm good.'
'Let's go get this.' And every player looked us in the eyes and said, we're going to get this done tonight, and they showed it when we went into singles."
On graduate assistant
Yassir Kilani's effort as a coach during the match: "He's crucial. He knows what we expect and is able to convey those messages to the girls and just really bridge the gap to them.
He was instrumental tonight."
On the remainder of the season ahead of them: "We'll enjoy this one tonight. It's a great experience, and again, the girls should be very proud of themselves. But it's only February, you know? I mean, now we have to turn our attention to May, but if we want to get to May, we're going to take it one day at a time and treat it just like it's another Tuesday."
P. Apisah on her play today: "I mean, I spoke with the coaches yesterday, and they told me that I needed to step up, and I just left everything out on the court today, and plus, I'm a senior. So I just wanted to give my all, and I did that."
Melnikova on clinching the match after a couple of tries: "Yeah, I got a little nervous when the referee made a tough call against me. It threw me off a bit, but, you know, I had to step up and just do the job, and I'm really happy. Honestly, you know, I just wanted to clinch. That's why I took a long time."
Violet on her third title with the team and looking ahead: "I mean, it's always great to win. Always feels amazing, and obviously, we have a brand new team with a lot of freshmen.
So it was really nice to get the win today even after losing the doubles point. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the year with the girls and to keep working hard and keep playing. Hopefully we can continue this winning streak, and hopefully end it with a bang at the end of the year."
Keiser will have a couple of weeks off before taking on Division II Palm Beach Atlantic on Monday, February 23. First serve from the Mitch Gornto Tennis Center in West Palm Beach, Fla. is set for 2:00 p.m.
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