March 19, 2008

Fort Myers, Fla. - Like the men's team, Stony Brook's women's tennis team had a close one go the other way at Florida Gulf Coast where the Eagles squeaked by the Seawolves by a 4-3 score. Senior Sandy Wijeratne (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) and freshman Fanny Charliquart (Gueugnon, France) each picked up a win in both singles and doubles for the Seawolves.

Stony Brook started out the day on a strong note, capturing two of the three doubles matches to take the doubles point. Charliquart and senior Victoria Vovsha (Forest Hills, N.Y.) picked up the first win for Stony Brook, taking the No. 3 match by an 8-4 score. In a close one, Wijeratne and sophomore Paola Rodolfi (Asuncion, Paraguay) came out on top at the No. 2 position, taking the match by a 9-8 (4) score.

Charliquart won her singles match in straight sets at No. 5, taking a 7-5, 7-5 victory over Leah Johnson, but Florida Gulf Coast started its comeback with straight sets wins at No. 1 and No. 3 to pick up its first points of the day. The remaining three matches all went to three sets. Wijeratne took hers at the No. 4 position, shaking off a second set loss to stage a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 win over Jordan Vaughn. Sophomore Claudia Sanua (Bryanstron, South Africa) and Vovsha each came back and won their second sets after dropping the first, but their opponents came back in the third sets to take the matches and give the Eagles the team win.

Stony Brook will wind up play in Florida on Thursday with a match against Coastal Carolina in Fort Myers at 10:00 a.m.

Florida Gulf Coast 4, Stony Brook 3

Doubles

1. Braniecka/Vaughn (FGC) def. Sanua/Federgreen; 9-7

2. Rodolfi/Wijeratne (SB) def. Maggiorini/Pfieffer; 9-8 (4)

3. Vovsha/Charliquart (SB) def. Kinely/Johnson; 8-4

Singles

1. Maria Maggiorini (FGC) def. Paola Rodolfi; 6-0, 6-1

2. Maria Braniecka (FGC) def. Claudia Sanua; 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-4

3. Lauren Pfieffer (FGC) def. Erica Federgreen; 6-2, 6-2

4. Sandy Wijeratne (SB) def. Jordan Vaughn; 6-2, 3-6, 6-4

5. Fanny Charliquart (SB) def. Leah Johnson; 7-5, 7-5

6. Brett Kinley (FGC) def. Victoria Vovsha; 6-4, 3-6, 6-4