DAYTONA BEACH â€" Florida Southern got its 2013 season off to a good start Wednesday, when the 17th-ranked Moccasins won five singles points after falling behind in doubles, and knocked off NAIA 2nd-ranked Embry-Riddle 6-3. It’s the highest ranked opponent at any level the Moccasins have ever beaten.
The Eagles (1-1) won the first two matches of the day at the third and second doubles flights, before the Moccasins (1-0) got a 9-8 (8-6) win from sophomore Magda Riutort (Petra, Spain)Â and junior Sabine Goge (Cesis, Latvia) at number one. That gave the Eagles a 2-1 lead, but it could have been 2-1 in favor of the Mocs, as sophomore Christie Nunnemann (St. Simmons Island, GA) and junior Laura Wichmann (Tiengen, Germany) only lost 9-7 in the second position.
In singles play, Embry-Riddle pushed its lead to 3-1 when Paolo Montero finished her match at the third flight, but it was all Florida Southern after that. Wichmann pulled out a 6-1, 7-6 (7-5) win at number four, and Riutort, who is ranked #11 in Division II, took down NAIA #17 Kristina Marova, 6-3, 7-5 in the top singles flight. That tied the team score at three wins apiece.
Shortly after that, 35th-ranked Sabine Goge won a straight-set match over NAIA #7 Hui-I Huang to put the Mocs ahead, and junior Crystal Copeland (Marietta, GA) completed a decisive 6-1, 6-0 victory over Elise Lagerstrom at number six to clinch the win for FSC. Junior Victoria Spagnuolo (Andover, MA) then gave them another singles point with a straight-set victory at number five.
Florida Southern will play its 2013 home opener on Friday when it hosts #13 Rollins at 3:00 p.m.
