Friday, 01/27/2012

ATHENS, Ga. (Jan. 27, 2012) --- Freshman Karyn Guttormsen won her second-straight singles match with a 6-0, 2-6, 6-1 victory over Fresno State’s Bianca Modoc as FIU (1-2) clinched a 4-2 win over the No. 66-ranked Bulldogs (0-1) during the opening round of the 2012 ITA Kickoff Weekend in Athens, Ga.

The win marked the first of the season for the Panthers and improved FIU to 2-3 all-time versus Fresno State.

With the match tied at 2-all, sophomore Rita Maisak downed Melissa Kirpicheva, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 for her second singles victory of the spring. The win gave FIU a 3-2 advantage with two more matches to be played. Guttormsen battled Modoc to a third set in which the native of Kenosha, Wis., won 6-1. The victory clinched the match for FIU, 4-2.

FIU jumped out to a 1-0 lead, taking the doubles portion of the competition, 2-1. Fresno State’s Marianne Jodoin and Tanya Murtagh defeated Guttormsen and sophomore Giulietta Boha, 8-1. The Panthers responded with an 8-4 victory by Maisak and freshman Sarah McLean over Laura Pola and Kirpicheva. FIU captured the doubles point following an 8-6 victory by seniors Lisa Johnson and Christine Seredni over Aishwarya Agrawal and Melissa McQueen.

Johnson gave FIU a 2-0 advantage following a straight-set win over Pola, 6-2, 6-3. However, the Bulldogs tied the match up at 2-2 with two-straight singles wins as Jodoin (No. 49) defeated McLean, 6-3, 6-4, and McQueen defeated Boha, 6-4, 6-4.

Seredni’s match with Agrawal was not finished due to Guttormsen’s game-clinching point.   

The Panther’s next match will take place on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 2 p.m. as FIU will face the winner of the Georgia/Missouri match. The winner of that match will go onto the National Team Indoor Championships in Charlottesville, Va. (Feb. 10-13).