SAVANNAH, Ga.- The Ave Maria University women's tennis team earned one of the biggest wins in program history on Saturday, defeating the third-ranked team in the nation, and a Sun Conference opponent at that, on their home court. The Gyrenes defeated the Bees of SCAD-Savannah for the second year in a row, toppling the national powerhouse by a 5-2 score in Savannah. AMU's win was powered by two victories over nationally ranked players and teams.

In doubles play, the Gyrenes took two of the three matches to take the early lead in the match. At the top flight, AMU's Lara Teodoro and Vitoria Barandas reminded onlookers why, despite being unranked, they are still one of the top pairs in the nation with a 6-4 win over SCAD's top duo, who entered the match ranked tenth in the nation. AMU's second team also earned victory, with Andrea Rodriguez Oria and Valentine Colin emerging with a 6-2 over their SCAD counterparts.

Needing three wins in singles play to upset the Bees, the Gyrenes got big wins from the bottom of their lineup, coupled with a stunner near the top of the scoresheet. The shocker came at the second flight, where Colin took down the 20th ranked player in the nation, Alessia Piccoliori, in straight sets. Colin knocked off Piccoliori in a tiebreaker in the first set, then was a 6-3 winner in the second set to finish off SCAD's top ranked player.

At the bottom of the lineup, AMU took the matches at the fourth, fifth, and sixth singles flights to leave Savannah with the win. At the fourth flight, Barandas was dominant in the first and third sets of a 6-1, 6-7, 6-2 victory. Regina Ruiz was responsible for Ave Maria's most dominant win of the day, a 6-2, 6-0 win at the fifth flight. At the sixth flight, Nicolle Koop rallied from a 6-2 loss in the first set to win 2-6, 6-0, 6-4.

Now sitting with a 2-0 Sun Conference record, the Gyrene women prepare for another set of SUN matches next weekend. The first of these matches will see Ave Maria battle another top-ten foe, as the No. 12 Gyrenes welcome No. 6 Southeastern University to southwest Florida. AMU has never beaten Southeastern in Ave Maria, but did knock off the Fire in 2021, a win sandwiched between a pair of 4-3 losses at the AMU Tennis Complex in 2020 and 2022.