MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – Lynn women’s tennis team beat Rollins, 5-2, Saturday in the NCAA Division II South Region 1 semifinals at Barry University’s Buccaneer Tennis Center.
The fifth-seed Fighting Knights (14-4) advance to play top-seeded Barry (25-0) in Sunday’s 9 a.m. championship match.
Rollins (13-6) played gutty tennis in taking a 2-1 lead after doubles. Following the Tars 8-0 No. 1 flight loss to Lynn’s No. 3-ranked Val Confalonieri and Ioana Ivan, Rollins responded with fortitude. The Tars No. 2 tandem of Ashley Loft and Lisa Loft battled for an 8-6 victory over Kim Przeszlowski and Aleks Vukadinovic to knot the match at 1-1. Rollins No. 3 duo of Carli Davis and Mariana Salvador then overcame a huge test to pull out a 9-8 (7-5) win over Alina Jane and Andrea Berkova.
Then came singles play, where Lynn reeled off four straight wins in convincing fashion to wrap it up. The 13th-ranked Ivan rolled to a 6-1, 6-0 No. 2 singles victory over Ashley Rosenberg to tie the match at 2-2. Berkova defeated Ashley Loft, 6-0, 6-2, at No. 5 for a 3-2 Fighting Knights lead.
Confalonieri, the fourth-ranked singles player in the country, beat Elissa DeCampli, 6-2, 6-0, at No. 1 to move Lynn within a point of clinching. Vukadinovic clinched the match with a 6-0, 6-4 victory over Emma Wookey at No. 6.