Florida State University Team Page
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -The No.26-ranked Florida State women's tennis team improved to 10-4 (2-2 ACC) on the year after it defeated Wake Forest 6-1 at the Scott Speicher Tennis Center.
"The girls did a good job taking care of business today," head coach Jennifer Hyde said. "We expect to battle every time we step on court, and I thought we had some good, tight matches in a few spots. That's exactly what we needed heading in to the weekend after not competing for the last 12 days."
The Demon Deacons forfeited the doubles match on court three, giving the Seminoles the edge for the point.
On court two, sophomore Daneika Borthwick and junior Kerrie Cartwright rallied from a 2-3 hole to win the next five games building a 7-3 lead. Borthwick closed out the match on serve, defeating Karen Forman and Xue Zhang 8-4.
The match on court was halted after the Seminoles won the doubles point. Senior Francesca Segarelli and Kristina Schleich were down 6-7 40-40, to Kathryn Talbert and Kasey Gardiner when the match was called.
After a Wake Forest forfeit on court six, Florida State went ahead 2-0.
Cartwright controlled her match on court four, defeating Karen Foreman for her eighth victory of the year, 6-2, 6-2. She added a point, making the score 3-0.
"Kerrie is playing very solid tennis right now," Hyde said. "She's finding her footing and when she decides to step up and play committed tennis, she's as tough as nails."
In the first set, Segarelli was down 3-1 before rallying to tie the match 3-3 against Zhang on court three. Fighting to go ahead, Segarelli pushed through several deuces before she went ahead 4-3, however Zhang came back to tie the set 4-4.
On serve, Segarelli gained momentum after taking the next two games and the first set, 6-4. She would seal the match for the Seminoles after taking the second set 6-2.
"Fran played some good tennis today against a solid newcomer," Hyde said. "She needed to be pushed and tested, and I thought she elevated her game accordingly."
With the win in the bag, two of the three matches left in play were in third sets.
After cruising through the first set, Sargeant could not hold off Gardiner in the second as she forced a third set. During the tiebreak, Sargeant buckled down and played her game in order to defeat Gardiner, 6-1, 6-7 (7-4)1-0 (10-8).
Wake Forest would make the score 5-1 after Talbert upset (No.31) Borthwick on court one, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.
In the first set on court five, Schleich fell in a giant 5-0 hole, however she stormed back to tie it 5-5, before Andrea Retolaza went up 6-5. On serve, Schleich knotted the match again, 6-6 forcing the set into a tiebreaker.
"I wasn't feeling well physically," Schleich said. "But, I need to calm myself down and fight for every single point."
Schleich completed her first set comeback by blazing through the tiebreak, 7-6 (7-3).
In the second, Schleich stayed even with Retolaza throughout the match, before going ahead 5-4. Retolaza refused to quit as the pair battled through seven deuces before Schleich delivered the final point.
"I am very happy that I was able to fight through and win this match." Schleich said.
The Lilienthal, Germany native won by a score of 7-6 (7-3), 6-4. With the win, she moves to 14-6 for the year in singles.
Florida State will be back in action on Saturday to face NC State at 12 p.m. at the Scott Speicher Tennis Center. For more information, check back to Seminoles.com, Facebook and twitter.
