BOCA RATON â€" Sophomore Olivia Spagnuolo and junior Sabine Goge both stepped up in the lineup Friday to give Florida Southern points in both doubles and singles, while juniors Joalis Dominguez and Laura Wichmann did the same to help them score three more points, as the 26th-ranked Moccasins defeated #21 Nova Southeastern 5-1 in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament. The win sends the Mocs into Saturday’s 5th-place match.
Playing without normal #1 player sophomore Magda Riutort, head coach Trish Riddell adjusted her lineup and moved Goge (Cesis, Latvia) into the top singles flight, and paired her with Spagnuolo (Andover, MA) at the top doubles position. Meanwhile, Dominguez (Vero Beach, FL) moved up from No. 3 singles to No. 2, and Wichmann (Waldshut-Tiengen, Germany), who had been playing at No. 6, also moved up a spot. All three of those players won their singles matches, and along with Spagnuolo, combined to give the Moccasins (16-6) two doubles points as well.
Nova Southeastern (7-13) took the first point of the day with an 8-4 win at No. 2 doubles where Austin Lavallii and Sabrina Kierberg defeated junior Victoria Spagnuolo (Andover, MA) and sophomore Christie Nunnemann (St. Simmons Island, GA). However, Florida Southern ended up winning the other two doubles contests, with both of them going the distance.
Goge and Spagnuolo won their match at No. 1 doubles, 9-7, only the second time this season Goge and Riutort were not in that spot where they’d put together a 17-2 record, had won 14 in a row, and were ranked #12 in the country. Shortly thereafter, Dominguez and Wichmann combined for a 9-8 (7-2) win at No. 3 doubles, giving Florida Southern the overall lead in the match.
In singles play, Goge was the first to finish, defeating Kierberg 6-1, 6-1 at the No. 1 position. Wichman followed with a win at No. 5 over Luisa Pintado, even after dropping the first set 6-1, coming back with 6-0 and 6-0 victories in the final two. Dominguez then clinched the match at No. 2 singles with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Alexandra Johansson.
Florida Southern, which has now won 14 of its last 15 matches, will play in Saturday’s SSC Tournament 5th-place match at 11:30 a.m. against the winner of Florida Tech vs. Tampa.
