Goia, Valladares Advance to FIU Women's Tennis Finals

Goia, Valladares Advance to FIU Women's Tennis Finals
Karina Goia is one of two Bucs serving for titles Sunday at FIU's Panther Invitational. Photo by Joel Auerbach

MIAMI -- Barry University women's tennis players Karina Goia and Cristina Valladares both will play for singles titles Sunday at Florida International University's Panther Invitational.

Goia beat FIU's Carlotta Orlando, 6-0, 6-3, in the Flight 1 singles semifinals. She will meet Florida Gulf Coast's Sarah Means in Sunday's 9 a.m. championship match.

Valladares was a 6-2, 6-3 winner over Liberty's Belen Rivera in the Flight 2 semis. Valladares, one of two seniors in the Bucs' lineup, will meet FIU's Aleksandra Trifunovic in the finals. Barry's other senior, Akemi Maehama, lost to Trifunovic, 6-1, 6-0, in the other second flight semifinals match.

The Buccaneers doubles teams of Elisabeth Abanda and Goia lost to Orlando and Trifunovic, 8-5, in the Flight 1 doubles semifinals. Maehama and Valladares fell to FIU's Tina Mohorcic and Nina Nagode, 8-3. 

Abanda beat Liberty's Mariela Hassey, 7-5, 6-0, in the Flight 1 singles consolation semifinals. Barry freshman Jasi Witherspoon lost to Mohorcic, 6-2, 6-1, in the Flight 3 singles consolation semis.

Sunday will complete the Bucs' three-day appearance in FIU's fall event. Next weekend will complete Barry's fall season when Emma Onila and Linda Fritschken compete in the ITA Indoor National Championships in Flushing, N.Y.