ORLANDO, Fla.- The Ave Maria University women's tennis faced an NCAA Division II opponent on Friday afternoon, taking on the Timberwolves of Northwood University from Michigan. Nationally ranked Lara Teodoro won both of her matches at the top of the lineup, but Northwood controlled much of the action elsewhere in a 6-1 win over the Gyrenes.
In doubles play, Teodoro and Candiotto continued their stellar play with a 6-3 win over Northwood's top team of Amanda Bandrowski and Elizaveta Velichko. However, the Timberwolves won the doubles point thanks to victories at the second and third doubles positions. Vasilisa Mikhaylova and Ekaterina Vorobeva defeated Kely Oliveira and Gabrielle Benn, 6-2, at number two, while Iryna Trystan and Rafaella Fulop picked up the win, 6-0, over Aethielle Kelkboom and Katie Fuller at number three.
Ave Maria's lone singles victory was also provided by Teodoro. Against Northwood's top player, Amanda Bandrowski, Teodoro rolled to a 6-1 win in the first set, and hung on for a 7-6 tiebreaker win to complete the two-set victory. With the wins, Teodoro now holds a 10-2 singles and 13-4 doubles record in the 2020-21 season. The junior is also undefeated in singles play this season against players not from No. 2 Keiser.
One other match went into three sets, coming at the number five singles position. Kely Oliveira won the first set, 6-3, but Vasilisa Mikhaylova rallied for a decisive 6-0 victory in the second set. The match was decided in the third set tiebreaker, where Mikhaylova cruised to a 10-4 win. In the other four matches, Northwood controlled the action, winning each match in straight sets.
For the first time since February 27, the Gyrene tennis teams will be back at home on Monday, with AMU hosting the Conquistadors of Florida National University at the AMU Tennis Facility. The match against Florida National will be one of two matches against non-conference opposition next week for Ave Maria, as the Gyrenes will return to the USTA National Campus on Wednesday afternoon to face Bethel University, an NCAA Division III foe from Minnesota. Opening serve of both non-conference matches next week are scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
