Results (PDF)

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Kennesaw State women's tennis team battled FGCU to the very end before falling 4-3 on Saturday at the USTA National Campus.
 
"This was one of my favorite matches I've coached since coming to KSU, even though we lost," Director of Tennis Matt Emery said. "We could not have been prouder of these women tonight. The heart, resiliency and sense of urgency they played with was championship level. We played FGCU two years ago and I think we won about a total of eight games. This is a tremendous leap forward in a very short time. The next step for our team is to just go win those last few points and win the match. If we compete like this, that is going to happen very soon."
 
The Eagles clinched the doubles point and three singles matches to secure the victory.

FGCU took the lead in singles with two straight set wins on courts four and six. The Owls cut into the Eagles lead on court one when Taylor Dean defeated Maja Ornberg in straight sets 6-0, 7-5.

Ji Youn Lee lost her first set but was able to come back and defeat Emma Bardet 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 on court two. Paola Cortez clinched the third set tiebreaker over Sofia Perez 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 to tie the match 3-3.

Dean and teammate Cortez were tied 5-5 on court one when the doubles point was clinched.

Match Notes
FGCU 4, Kennesaw State 3

Singles competition
1.Taylor Dean (KSUW) def. Maja Ornberg (FGCU) 6-0, 7-5
2. Ji Youn Lee (KSUW) def. Emma Bardet (FGCU) 1-6, 6-3, 6-2
3. Paola Cortez (KSUW) def. Sofia Perez (FGCU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
4. Fanny Norin (FGCU) def. Valentina Taddia (KSUW) 6-2, 6-0
5. Ida Ferding (FGCU) def. Sofia Pinedo (KSUW) 6-2, 6-4
6. Alba Retortillo (FGCU) def. Soomin Kim (KSUW) 6-3, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. Maja Ornberg/Emma Bardet (FGCU) vs. Taylor Dean/Paola Cortez (KSUW) no result
2. Sofia Perez/Ida Ferding (FGCU) def. Ji Youn Lee/Valentina Taddia (KSUW) 6-2
3. Alba Retortillo/Lourdes Ramalle (FGCU) def. Sofia Pinedo/Soomin Kim (KSUW) 6-4
Match Notes:
FGCU 3-4 (1-1 ASUN) Kennesaw State 5-8 (0-2 ASUN)
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (4,6,1,5,2,3)

Up Next
The Owls return home to host North Florida on the Betty Siegel Courts on Saturday, March 27 at 11 a.m.

To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State women's tennis news follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and @KSUOwlsWTenn or by liking Kennesaw State Owls on Facebook.