No. 9 Academy of Art versus No. 24 Nova Southeastern
 
WINTER PARK, Fla. – In their first match of the road trip, No. 9 ART U women's tennis made their presence known in the state of Florida, defeating No. 24-ranked Nova Southeastern by a convincing, 8-1 score.
 
"I told my players that it doesn't really matter where we are, that we just have to do our best," said head coach Clarisse Baca. "The results really showed that they were able to do this."
 
Despite only competing with four players, the Sharks managed to take the match in second doubles although juniors Monika Stanikova and Paula Alcantara gave them a run for their money: after trailing 7-2, the duo managed to win four straight games to make it 7-6 before the Sharks came out on top with an 8-6 score.
 
At the onset of singles, NSU defaulted two matches due to a lack of players, but that did not stop the Urban Knights from sweeping the rest of the category. No. 14-ranked Monika Stanikova took care of business in first singles, defeating No. 32 Ana Navas 6-2, 6-4. In the second position, junior Mariacristina Andrisani also defeated her opponent (ranked No. 68), but it took until the super tiebreaker to decide things: after taking the first set 6-3, she dropped the second by the same score. Then, in the tiebreaker, the Matera, Italy native battled until the end, eventually winning 10-7. No. 70 Klara Thell-Lenntorp won her match 6-1, 6-1, while her sister, Alma Thell-Lenntorp also came away victorious in straight sets (6-2, 6-4).
 
"I am very impressed by the performance of our players today," said Baca. "I am looking forward to our match on Monday and continuing our trip in Florida."
 
Now, with a 9-3 overall record, Academy of Art will continue their stretch of three matches in consecutive days with their second Floridian match coming on Monday against No. 14 Florida Southern. The contest is set to see its first serve at 3:00 p.m. ET.