LAKELAND, Fla. – Florida Southern College women's tennis has earned a place in the 2022 Sunshine State Conference Tournament, as the eighth seed to take on number one seed Barry University, in the SSC quarterfinals on Friday, April 22
nd.
Location: Bradenton, Fla.
Center: IMG Academy Tennis Court, hosted by Barry University.
Start Time: 10:00 a.m.
Coverage: Live Scores -
www.fscmocs.com/stats
"A mixture of a season this year, with some good wins and some disappointing losses," said head coach
Trish Riddell. "We are definitely pleased to be competing in the conference tournament and will prepare as best we can for the challenge ahead."
8th Seed – The Moccasins – Roster | Schedule | Statistics
Florida Southern enters the tournament with an 11-9 overall record and 3-6 conference record. The Mocs have been ranked as high as 29
th, which is where the Mocs sit as of this week. Florida Southern has a good full slate of games this year, including a six-game win streak during the heart of the schedule and a successful spring break trip at Hilton Head. Most recently the Mocs had a big upset win over No. 28 Embry-Riddle on Senior Day, before two straight losses to No. 15 Tampa and No. 27 University of West Florida. Their win over the Eagles was after another big 4-3 win over No. 41 Palm Beach Atlantic and crucial conference wins.
Leaders on the team during doubles include
Mathilda Vidgren and
Laura Vetter, who were ranked as a pairing during part of the season. They have a 15-11 record together and won a match against a nationally ranked opponent. In singles,
Olivia Bryant sets an impressive No. 72 ranking and 7-2 in her last nine outings. She led the team with 19 total wins during the season, just outside the top 10 in Moccasin history in a single season. Vidgren had a team best two wins over nationally ranked opponents and 11 total wins, with
Vivien Charvatova and Isabella Boliva with 11 and 10 wins respectively.
1st Seed – The Buccaneers – Roster | Schedule | Statistics
Barry remains undefeated and No. 1 team in the nation with an impressive 20-0 record so far. Nearly all the matches have been complete sweeps by the Buccaneers except for a close 4-3 match against No. 2 Nova Southeastern and a 6-1 win over No. 3 Saint Leo. Last time out, the Bucs beat the Tritons 7-0 in St. Petersburg nearly two weeks ago, as they remain top seed in the conference with a perfect nine games against SSC foes. The Bucs have won the SSC Championships 12 total times, all within the last 24 years, alternating titles with Lynn.
Barry is led by No. 1 singles player Deniz Khazan, with a perfect 21-0 record this year, as jil Engelmann and Kim Moosbacher sit in the top 30. The Bucs also have Xiyao Wang (44
th), Clara Versier (58
th), and Mariia Skyba (62
nd) represented in the top 75 singles players in the nation. In doubles, similar story with slightly different names as Daniela and Moosbacher team up for third, with Madeline Bosnjak and Khazan right behind in fourth. This marks the third straight season with an unbeaten regular season for Barry.
FSC in the SSC Tournament
The Mocs enter the tournament with a 22-35 overall record in the SSC tourney. A tennis powerhouse in the 80s and early 90s, Florida Southern has won nine SSC Championships, the first in 1983 and the last coming in 1993. Florida Southern has appeared in the last four SSC Championships, last time being a 4-0 loss to Nova Southeastern in the quarterfinals of the 2019 tournament.
Florida Southern has faced Barry in the SSC Tournament eight times, with the Bucs coming out on top in all but three of the matches, the last win when Florida Southern won 5-4 in 2007. The last time these two met in the tournament was in 2016, where the Bucs won 5-0.
The Matchup – FSC vs BU
Florida Southern has struggled when facing the Bucs, losing the last 16 matches played. Last time these two met was earlier this month, when Barry won 4-0. FSC went into the match ranked 39
th in the nation, as the Bucs were sitting in the No. 1 spot. The last win for the Mocs against Barry came in 5-4 conference tournament win on April 21st, 2007. When in a neutral site, the Mocs are 3-3 against the Bucs.
Other Matches:
#4 Lynn vs #5 Tampa – 10:00 AM
#3 Saint Leo vs #6 Rollins – 10:00 AM
#2 Nova Southeastern vs #7 Embry-Riddle - 10:00 AM
Following the Friday quarterfinal round, winners will compete Saturday, April 23
rd, set for a 10:00 AM start, with the Championship and Third Place matches on Sunday, April 24
th, at 9:00 PM. Winners of each championship will receive automatic qualification to the 2022 NCAA Division II Championships. First and second rounds for the NCAA Championships will be played at non-predetermined sites between Monday, May 9th - Tuesday, May 10th. Finals for both men and women will take place Wednesday, May 18th - Monday, May 23rd at the Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Florida. The NCAA will announce championship selections and seeding on Tuesday, May 3rd.
