FORT MYERS, Fla. – FGCU erased chalk in the ASUN Tournament bracket Friday evening as the third-seeded Eagles upended No. 2 seed Lipscomb, 4-2, in the semifinals to advance to Saturday's championship match.
This sends FGCU to its seventh appearance in the ASUN Tournament Championship Match, and the Eagles will face a familiar nemesis across the net, the 52
nd-ranked and No. 1 seed North Florida. The Ospreys squeaked past the Eagles earlier this season, 4-3. To win the title, FGCU will have to avenge an earlier loss, the same thing the Green & Blue did to get past the semifinals.
Meeting Lipscomb earlier this season on March 7 in Nashville, Tennessee, the Bisons dominated in a 4-1 victory. A vastly different story unfolded Friday night in Fort Myers.
FGCU pulled out the doubles point to start things off.
Africa Burillo Berezak and
Ashley Matz opened with a commanding 6-2 win at No. 3 doubles over Martina Bovio and Kameliia Tytarenko. The Bisons managed a win at No. 2 doubles with Sofiia Paladi and Deborah Dominguez Collado prevailing 6-1 over
Cecilie Maeland and
Anjali Kotecha. The decisive point came at No. 1 doubles, where
Nora Svensson and
June Bjork defeated Serafima Bobrovnikova and Mariia Dolzhenko, 6-4.
In singles play, Maeland made quick work of Bobrovnikova, 6-4, 6-4, to give FGCU the 2-0 lead. The Bisons responded with wins at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, as Paladi overcame Svensson, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, and Dolzhenko rallied past Bjork, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, leveling the overall score.
The Eagles regained the lead with
Sabrina Jaramillo's three-set win at No. 5 singles, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, against Bovio. That marked Jaramillo's 21
st win of the season for the freshman, a number that remains the second-highest number of wins in a season for a freshman in program history.
Kotecha secured the dual match victory for Florida Gulf Coast at No. 6 singles, outlasting Sofiia Zhylchuk, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. The match at No. 3 singles between Matz and Dominguez Collado remained unfinished with Matz leading 5-4 in the third set.
"I kind of just stuck to my game plan the whole match," Kotecha stated, emphasizing the importance of consistency and practice.
Kotecha noted the collective effort, saying, "I saw Ashley fighting so hard, I saw everyone fighting so hard, I saw the support, like, it was incredible."
As FGCU heads to the championship match, the Eagles will have to dethrone North Florida (24-0), a team that Florida Gulf Coast was close to beating on April 3 in Fort Myers, before Matz was forced to retire due to injury in a 3-3 match. The only remaining undefeated team in the nation, the 52
nd-ranked Ospreys now have to face an FGCU squad that is determined to avenge a regular season loss for the second consecutive day.
"We have nothing to lose, you know, we're so strong, we're confident, we're a team to beat," Kotecha remarked, highlighting the team's determination and unity as they prepare for the challenge ahead.
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Game Notes:
- Florida Gulf Coast advances to the ASUN Tournament Championship Match for the seventh time. The Eagles are looking for their first tournament title.
- Florida Gulf Coast is now 15-13 all-time in ASUN Tournament play.
- The Eagles are now 3-1 against Lipscomb in ASUN Tournament play.
- Sabrina Jaramillo recorded her 21st singles win of the season. She ranks second in program history for singles wins in a season by a freshman.
