Feb. 12, 2012
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Auburn women's tennis (3-1) dropped its first match of the young spring season on Sunday afternoon against No. 21 Florida State, 5-2.
"I have to first compliment Florida State, they are a really good nationally-ranked team that always competes at a high level," said head coach Lauren Longbotham Meisner. "I am so proud of the team's effort and attitude today. They played their hearts out and were in every point. The intensity and passion to win was there from start to finish, and I think this will only give us confidence moving forward to know that we can compete with a nationally-ranked team like FSU."
The Tigers battled hard from the outset and nearly took the hotly contested doubles point.
The duo of Paulina Schippers and Plamena Kurteva were narrowly defeated at the No. 2 doubles line, 8-5, by FSU's Carolina De Los Santos and Amy Sargeant. Moments later at the top doubles spot, Jen Pfeifler and Jackie Kasler were edged by Francesa Segarelli and Ruth Seaborn, 8-6, to give the Seminoles the point.
FSU pushed its lead to 3-1 during singles play when it grabbed wins at singles lines three and four. De Los Santos downed Kurteva at the No. 4 spot 6-2, 6-3, while Seaborn defeated Schippers 6-0, 6-3. FSU clinched the match when Sargeant rallied to beat Kasler at No. 5 6-3, 2-6, 6-2.
Pfeifler, a freshman, claimed Auburn's only singles win on the afternoon. The Gulf Breeze, Fla., native impressively defeated Leyla Erkan at No. 2 in straight sets, 7-6 (7-2), 7-5.
Fellow freshman Emily Flickinger also fought hard on the day but was unable to pull off the upset at the No. 1 singles line. Flickinger dropped the first set 6-2, but responded by taking the second 7-5. The third set saw both players hold serve throughout which forced a tiebreaker, where Segarelli eventually prevailed 9-7.
"We had our chances to win on every court today," said Longbotham Meisner. "I think we just need to capitalize on the opportunities that we create for ourselves by putting the ball away, and get better at finishing out each game. We will take what we learned today and keep moving forward."
The women's tennis team returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 18 when it travels to Lafayette, La., to battle Louisiana-Lafayette at Noon. The Tigers are back in action again on Sunday the 19th when they take on Louisiana-Monroe, also at Noon, in Monroe, La.
Fans can follow @AUWomensTennis on Twitter for updates.
Results
No. 21 Florida State 5, Auburn 2
Doubles
1. Francesa Segarelli/Ruth Seaborn (FSU) def. Jen Pfeifler/Jackie Kasler (AU) 8-6
2. Carolina De Los Santos/Amy Sargeant (FSU) def. Paulina Schippers/Plamena Kurteva (AU) 8-5
3. FSU default
Singles
1. Francesa Segarelli (FSU) def. Emily Flickinger (AU) 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (9-7)
2. Jen Pfeifler (AU) def. Leyla Erkan (FSU) 7-6 (7-2), 7-5
3. Ruth Seaborn (FSU) def. Paulina Schippers (AU) 6-0, 6-3
4. Carolina De Los Santos (FSU) def. Plamena Kurteva (AU) 6-2, 6-3
5. Amy Sargeant (FSU) def. Jackie Kasler (AU) 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
6. FSU default
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1*); Singles (6,4,3,5*,2,1 )