Tampa, Fla. - The Stetson women's tennis team fell 6-1 on the road to nationally 43rd-ranked USF (2-1) in its dual match season opener Friday. Senior Breanna Atkinson (Bradenton, Fla.) earned the only point for the Hatters, who had to contend with two nationally ranked singles players and the #8 doubles duo in the nation across the net.
Stetson's #60 doubles pairing of senior Valentina Galbarini (Montevideo, Uruguay) and freshman Carolina de los Santos (Montevideo, Uruguay) fell 8-1 in their nationally ranked debut to USF's star duo Melissa Koning and Irene Rehberger. Koning and Rehberger are ranked eighth in the nation. Junior Unnati Purushotham (Hyderabad, India) and sophomore Shannon Gunning (Boca Raton, Fla.) gave the Hatters a chance at the doubles point with an 8-6 victory at the #3 position, but Natalia Guevara and Allyn Mueller slipped past Atkinson and senior Katherine Nowicki (Jacksonville, Fla.) by an 8-6 score at #2 doubles to put the Bulls ahead 1-0 going into the singles matches.
Atkinson got the only singles win for Stetson in the match with a third-set tiebreaker victory over Mueller in the #4 slot. Galbarini fell 6-2, 6-1 at the top of the lineup to the 77th-ranked Rehberger while 52nd-ranked Ecaterina Vasenina defeated Purushotham 6-3, 6-1 at #2 singles.
The Hatters are off until Friday, February 5 when they host Georgia Southern in their home opener at the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center. The match will begin at 12 p.m.
