TAMPA, Fla.—The Barry University women's tennis team finished fourth at the Sunshine State Conference Championship after an incredibly close 5-4 loss to the Florida Southern Mocs on Saturday afternoon.

 

The dynamic-duo of Svetlana Konyashkina and Helen Wisniewski was the only doubles team to earn a match point for the Bucs with an 8-4 win over Erin Conroy and Lidia Gandarias. The two claimed the only point in the semi-final round on Friday. At number one, Ildiko Csordas and Berit Peterson pushed the Mocs to extra points, but fell to Meri Gol and Senka Softic, 97. The freshmen team of Laime Contreras and Saskia Kruse were defeated by Silje Aarum and Lindsey Schwartz, 8-5.

 

For the first time in the tournament, the Bucs finished out all six singles matches in hopes of a victory. Csordas successfully defended the number one slot against Softic, 6-4, 6-4 while Peterson earned the Bucs a match point at number three against Gandarias, 6-3, 6-3. At number six, Barry's Konyashkina defeated Conroy with identical 6-2 sets. Still, the Bucs fell just short to stop the Mocs from earning the final three points to finish the match.

 

Lynn University reclaimed their conference title with a 5-1 win over Nova Southeastern. Rollins College shut out the University of Tampa 6-0 to earn fifth place and Saint Leo defeated Eckerd College 5-1 to earn seventh and eighth-place, respectively.

 

The Bucs will travel to Eckerd College on Wed., Apr. 25 at 1:00 p.m. in St. Petersburg, Fla. The NCAA Regional Championship will be held May 3-5.

 

 Singles competition

1. Ildiko Csordas (BUW) def. Senka Softic (FSW) 6-4, 6-4

2. Meri Gol (FSW) def. Helen Wisniewski (BUW) 6-2, 6-2

3. Berit Peterson (BUW) def. Lidia Gandarias (FSW) 6-3, 6-3

4. Silje Aarum (FSW) def. Saskia Kruse (BUW) 7-5, 6-2

5. Lindsey Schwartz (FSW) def. Laime Contreras (BUW) 6-3, 6-7 (3-7), 7-5

6. Svetlana Konyashkina (BUW) def. Erin Conroy (FSW) 6-2, 6-2

 

 Doubles competition

1. Meri Gol/Senka Softic (FSW) def. Ildiko Csordas/Berit Peterson (BUW) 9-7

2. Silje Aarum/Lindsey Schwartz (FSW) def. Laime Contreras/Saskia Kruse (BUW) 8-5

3. Svetlana Konyashkina/Helen Wisniewski (BUW) def. Erin Conroy/Lidia Gandarias (FSW) 8-4

 

Barry 9-8; National ranking #18

Florida Southern 18-5; National ranking #12

SSC Tournament

Third place match