Friday, April 16, 2010

DeLAND, Fla. – Second-seeded and 64th-ranked UNF (19-2) won the doubles point and then rolled to a 4-1 win over the third-seeded Stetson women’s tennis team (18-7) in the semifinals of the Atlantic Sun Conference Championships at the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center on Friday. The Hatters end their season having tied the program record for wins.

The first two doubles matches were split with Danielle Day and Melanie Aguirre getting an 8-4 win on Court 2 for UNF and the senior tandem of Breanna Atkinson (Bradenton, Fla.) and Katherine Nowicki (Jacksonville, Fla.) winning 8-2 for the Hatters on Court 3. The doubles point came down to a battle of ranked squads as #90 Aline Berkenbrock and Raquel Castro of UNF bested the 60th-ranked Stetson duo of senior Valentina Galbarini (Montevideo, Uruguay) and freshman Carolina de los Santos (Montevideo, Uruguay).

Singles wins for Berkenbrock at #1 and Aguirre at #5 brought the Ospreys to within one point of closing the match out. Junior Unnati Purushotham (Hyderabad, India) forestalled the end with her 15th consecutive singles victory, a 6-4, 6-1 triumph over Krook on Court 4. Castro soon put the finishing touches on the UNF win, however, defeating Galbarini 6-0, 6-3 on Court 2. UNF advances to the A-Sun finals in its first year as a postseason-eligible member of NCAA Division I.

With 18 wins, the Hatters tied the program record set in 1986, the first Division I season for Stetson. Purushotham and A-Sun Freshman of the Year de los Santos lead the returning cast for Head Coach Sasha Schmid; Purushotham was 21-4 in singles and 19-3 in doubles this spring.

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The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.