JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Stetson women's tennis team (9-8, 4-3) dropped its third consecutive Atlantic Sun Conference match, falling to North Florida by a score of 6-1 on Saturday afternoon in Jacksonville.

The match began with the Ospreys sweeping the doubles matches to secure an early 1-0 advantage. After UNF won the first doubles match, the duo of junior Diana Bukajeva and Jen Miller put up a strong fight at the number one doubles position, but ultimately fell 8-6.

In singles, the Ospreys won five of the six matches. After UNF won the first two matches in straight sets at the number four and five singles positions, the final four matches all went to three sets. Senior Sara Lazarevic was able to win her first set, but ultimately lost, falling to Lorena Aviles by a score of 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 to clinch the match for UNF.

The lone winner for Stetson was Bukajeva, who defeated Simona Weymar by a score of 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 at the number two position. Juniors Lindsey Cable and MayaBlue Stauffer-MacDowell both played three sets, but lost their matches to end the day.

“The way the team fought today was extremely positive,” Stetson assistant coach Christophe Noblet said following the loss. “The overall score does not reflect how close the matches were. On the back side, we need to improve in our ability to close matches when we have the lead.”

Stetson will return to action on Wednesday, when the team plays host to UCF at 2:30 p.m. The Hatters will then host Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. to close out the regular season.

“Our focus is now on next week,” Noblet said. “Finishing the regular season on a positive note is important prior to the conference championships.”