AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University women's tennis team faced another major challenge on Saturday, as the No. 21 Southeastern University Fire came to the AMU Tennis Facility. The Gyrenes narrowly missed out on the biggest victory in school history, as the Fire escaped from Ave Maria with a 4-3 win. Southeastern won four of the six singles matches to claim the one-point win.

For the first time since 2013, the Gyrenes won the majority of the doubles matches, earning AMU the coveted doubles point. At the number three position, Aethielle Kelkboom and Katie Fuller handled their opposition, winning 6-3. The doubles point came down to a tight match at the number one position, between AMU's Lara Teodoro and Julia Candiotto and SEU's Sharienne Ricardo and Angelique Myrtil. Teodoro and Candiotto emerged victorious with a 7-5 decision, sending the Gyrenes into singles play with a 1-0 lead.

Teodoro continued her domination of NAIA opposition, winning her fifth consecutive match against a player from an NAIA school. The sophomore rolled to a 6-0, 6-3 win over the top player from Southeastern, her most decisive victory of the season. Including her two doubles victories, Teodoro is currently 6-2 overall against Sun Conference opponents. Nadia Mangelsdorff also earned a victory for the Gyrenes in singles play, beating Mia Dunagan 6-2, 6-4. The win was Mangelsdorff's second singles win, with both coming in conference play.

Southeastern rallied from losing the doubles point to win four singles matches. All six singles matches, including the two Ave Maria wins, were decided in straight sets. The decisive match proved to come at the number five position. Priscila Baptista withstood a rally from AMU's Kelly Oliveira to win the opening set 7-6, then rallied from a 4-2 deficit to claim a 6-4 win in the second set. 

The Gyrenes will return to Sun Conference action next Saturday against the Bees of SCAD-Savannah. Ave Maria will host the nationally-ranked SCAD-Savannah squad, which will be the team's final conference match for nearly a month. Opening serve between the Gyrenes and the Bees is scheduled  for 1:00 p.m. at the AMU Tennis Facility.