TAMPA, FLA - The Stetson women's tennis team competed in the Bedford Cup on Friday, which is hosted by South Florida. The Bedford Cup brings players from schools all across Florida to compete.
 
In the doubles gold draw, Alanna DiFrancesco and Cheri Darley defeated Ekaterina  Khayrutdinova and Oyiniomo Quadre from FIU 6-3. They advanced to the semifinal to face UCF's pair of Anique Kattenberg and Noel Saidenova falling 4-6.

In doubles green draw Cleanna Pickle and Clelia Lombardi lost to Carla Galmiche and Amber McGinnis from FAU 2-6.

Darley competed in the gold draw singles for the Hatters defeating Laura Putz from Florida State 6-1, 7-5. She would advance to face Quadre from FIU who would pick up the win over Darley 6-1, 6-1. In the backdraw Darley would defeat Isabella Colmenares from FGCU 6-3, 6-0.

DiFrancesco and Lombardi would compete in the green draw singles for Stetson. DiFrancesco would defeat Millie-Mae Matthews from FAU 6-1, 4-1 as Matthews would be retired in the second set. Lombardi would lose in a first round matchup with Marta Falceto Font from USF 4-6, 3-6. In the second round Di Francesco would lose to Katerina Mandelikova 3-6, 0-6, while Lombardi would also fall to Amber McGinnis in a hard fought match with Amber McGinnis 7-6 (9), 0-6, 3-10. DiFrancesco's final matchup of the day in the backdraw was won against Jasmine Makela from UNF 6-4, 6-4.

Maxence Lippens and Cleanne Pickle would compete in the white draw singles. Lippens would lose to Kristyna Hrancova from FIU 2-6, 2-6. Pickle would defeat Susan Salinas from Florida A&M 6-7 (5), 6-1, 10-6.

In their second singles matchups of the day Lippens would fall to Kendall Nash 0-6, 1-6. Pickle would pick up a win against USF's Sabrina Ibarra 2-6, 6-2, 10-5.

In the round three backdraw Pickle would fall to Amelia Kopel out of FGCU 1-6, 1-6. Pickle would gain another victory against Sierra Sandy of Florida A&M 6-4, 6-0. Lippens would drop her final match to USF's Gargi Pawar 1-6, 0-6.
 
"The Bedford cup is a great event. The sponsors have been awesome and very generous. We give them our thanks. We had some good matches in against opponents we may see in the spring. We need as many matches as we can right now to fine tune practice into completion. We have a big month of competition ahead which will give a good indication of the level we are playing at and what we need for the spring," said Stetson Head Coach Travis Sandlant.

The Hatters will continue their fall season at the UTR 25K in Boca Raton on Sunday.

About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program is driven by a shared purpose. It is what inspires, motivates and binds us together. More than a task, a reason for being. THE HATTER PURPOSE is to create and provide an experience of a lifetime through teamwork and relationships to achieve excellence. This purpose is achieved through five Core Values: Communication, Integrity, Excellence, Value People and Commitment. To learn more about the HATS program and our Core Values, visit GoHatters.com/HATS.

Get in on the conversation on social media by following Stetson Athletics on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter . For video content, visit our YouTube channels: Stetson Hatters, Stetson Athletics For a recap of the week's notable stories, sign up for the Stetson Athletics Newsletter HERE