The Stetson women's tennis team (3-1) defeated Florida A&M (2-5) by a score of 7-0 on Saturday afternoon at the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center in DeLand, Fla.

The Hatters began the day by sweeping the doubles matches. Junior Diana Bukajeva and freshman Andrea Crespo defeated Bethany Holt and Symone Townsend by a score of 8-2. Freshman Eveline Lepinay and Junior Lindsey Cable followed that with an 8-1 victory against Shani Williams and Elysia Ortiz, securing the doubles point. Senior Clarke Tatje and sophomore Rachel Luke finished the doubles sweep by defeating Alexis Dean and Victoria Williams 8-2.

In singles, the Hatters were victorious in all six matches. Cable, who moved to the No. 4 singles position for the match, was the first to finish in singles, defeating Ortiz 6-0, 6-0. Tatje extended the Hatter lead to 3-0 with her victory against Townsend, winning 6-1, 6-1.

In No. 2 singles, Bukajeva clinched the match for Stetson, defeating Dean 6-1, 6-1, improving to 4-0 in singles play. Crespo bounced back from a defeat in her last match to defeat Holt by a score of 6-1, 6-2 on Saturday.

At the No. 5 singles position, Lepinay picked up her first collegiate victory, defeating Shani Williams by a score of 6-4, 6-0. Fellow freshman Anja Erwin followed suit with the first victory of her career, defeating Victoria Williams 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (8).

"I had a bad start, I was a little nervous," Lepinay said. "Coach just told me to put the ball in the court and put some spin on it since it was windy. That's what I did, and it worked."

"It's a very special moment," Erwin said. "It was a tough match. It was very mental, because I had to change my entire game. I had to be patient and listen to what coach said, and it worked."

Stetson returns to action on March 2, taking on College of Charleston, who is currently ranked #72 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). That match is schedule to begin at 12:00 p.m. at the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center.

"The ladies played a good match in difficult weather conditions," Director of Tennis Pierre Pilote said. "It was great to see Rachel and Anja do so well in their first match of the season. We will now train hard this week in preparation for College of Charleston."

Match Notes: Cable and Lepinay are 4-0 in doubles on the season ... Bukajeva has won eight straight, and Cable has won seven straight singles matches, dating back to last season ... The Hatters have started 3-1 three of the last four seasons (7-0 to begin 2010).