Friday, April 25, 2003

FIU upsets Middle Tennessee, moves on at Sun Belt Championships

ecording the first upset of the weekend, No. 6-seeded FIU (7-13) moved on at the Sun Belt Conference Championships in Mobile, Ala., with a 4-2 victory over third-seeded Middle Tennessee, in quarterfinals play.

The win avenged an earlier 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Lady Raiders (9-11) that closed out the regular season last March 31.

FIU scored the first point Friday, taking both of the completed doubles matches. The Golden Panthers Mei Ly and Bruna Discordia set the tone, defeating the 26th-ranked and all-conference tandem of Manon Kruse and Stacy Varnell, 8-4, at No. 1. FIU claimed the point after Desanka Jovanovic and Courtney Jonson won their second doubles match of the day, this time, an 8-2 decision over Carien Venter and Emily Vest at No. 2.

Middle Tennessee hung tough in the early going of singles. Discordia lost at No. 1 to the 46th-ranked Kruse, 6-1, 6-2. And after Jonson won her team-leading 13th match of the spring, 6-1, 6-3, against Vest, MT’s Jennifer Klaschka knotted up the match at 2-2 by defeating Ly, 6-2, 6-3, at No. 2.

But the Golden Panthers closed out the match with wins at No. 4-5. Davina Duronio beat Laura McNamara, 7-5, 6-2, at five, and then Christine Suard prevailed with a 7-6 (5), 6-4 decision over Varnell, at the fourth spot.

FIU moves on to the tournament semifinals and a date with second-seeded Denver, Saturday morning beginning at 9:00 a.m. (ET).