MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- Barry University's No. 3-ranked women's tennis team beat No. 22 Tampa, 8-1, Sunday at Buccaneer Tennis Center. The win bumped the Buccaneers' record to 4-0 overall, 3-0 in the Sunshine State Conference.
Barry will play at No. 21 Nova Southeastern 2 p.m. Tuesday in Davie, Fla.
The win Sunday was the second this weekend for the Buccaneers, and fourth in the first two weekends of the season.
"So far it's going great," Barry sophomore Elisabeth Abanda said after collecting a 6-0, 7-5 singles win over Viviana Tedino at the No. 4 flight. "Four wins in a row. I feel like it's the same story as last spring, and hopefully we're going to make it all the way to nationals, and then this time change the story and win it."
Ranked No. 9 in singles, Abanda overcame a 4-3 deficit in the second set, rallying to win four of the next five games. It was her second win of the season, and first at the No. 4 spot.
"During the first set, I basically just played my game. I was really aggressive," Abanda said. "During the second set, my shoulder started to feel really sore, so I wasn't able to be as aggressive as I was in the first set. So I think me pulling back a little bit, she took that advantage, and she was a little bit more aggressive than I was, but I was able to close the match, luckily, 7-5, in the second.
"I wasn't thinking about the points or the game if it was 5-3 or 4-3 for me, or if I was up or down. I knew that if I just go back to the state of mind that I had in the first set, I was going to win the second set, no matter whether it was 7-5 or 6-4."
Barry's Linda Fritschken, ranked 31st in the country, breezed by No. 39 Meg Wladimirski, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 1 singles. Bucs first-year teammate Anaeve Pain defeated Lauren Hewett by the same score at No. 2. Fellow Barry newcomer Blanka Szavay beat Lindsay Nochowicz, 6-3, 6-3, at No. 3 singles.
At No. 5, Barry senior Akemi Maeham forced a third set tiebreaker against Tampa's Kelsey Matthews, but fell 6-3, 3-6, 10-4. Bucs senior Cristina Valladares beat Katherine Pyne, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 6.
Barry made quick work in doubles play, sweeping the three matches. The Buccaneers top team of Fritschken and Onila, ranked No. 1 in the country, beat the No. 22-ranked duo of Wladimirski and Hewett, 8-2. Szavay and Isabela Miro defeated Nochowicz and Matthews, at the No. 2 flight, 8-3. Abanda and Karina Goia, ranked No. 13, were 8-2 winners over Tedino and Pyne at No. 3.