LAKELAND, Fla. – The No. 16 Florida Southern College women's tennis team seeks revenge as the Mocs enter the Sunshine State Conference championships as a fifth-seed to face No. 26/fourth-seed Lynn University in the SSC quarterfinals on Friday afternoon at the West Palm Beach, Fla.
Mitch Gornto Tennis Center.
SSC Quarterfinal
Opponent: No. 26/fourth-seed Lynn University
Location: West Palm Beach, Fla. |
Mitch Gornto Tennis Center.
Date: Friday, April 25, 2025 | 1:00 p.m.
Tournament Page:
https://sunshinestateconference.com/tournaments/?id=253
The Moccasins return to the SSC tournament after a year off, returning as the fifth seed, the same as 2023. FSC is looking for a rematch against the Fighting Knights after falling during the regular season 4-3 in Boca Raton, Fla.
"Super excited to have the opportunity to compete against a team who beat us by the narrowest of margins in the regular season," said head coach
Trish Riddell on the quarterfinal matchup against Lynn. Looking forward to this hard-working team reaping the benefits of all their strong efforts! Go Mocs!!"
No. 16/Fifth-Seed Moccasins | Roster | Schedule | Coaches | Stats
The Moccasins have quite a task ahead, but have a plethora of experience over the 2025 season to lean on. Ranked as high as 16th in the nation, in the latest ITA DII Poll, FSC enters with a 15-5 overall record highlighted by an 11- 0 win streak from Feb. 25 - March 21. The Mocs also had the biggest upset of the season when they defeated No. 5 Embry-Riddle in Daytona Beach with a 4-3 win as
Ronja Scheuermann clinched the upset on April 9. The majority of FSC's ranked losses were in close 4-3 matches, falling to No. 15 Saint Leo to open the season and No.10 West Florida. All but one of FSC's losses came from SSC programs, as FSC ended with a 5-4 SSC record heading into the playoffs.
Leading the way for the Mocs is
Olivia Bryant, who is ranked No. 7 in the latest ITA singles action and is currently on a six-match winning streak while going 17-3 at the No.1 singles court. In singles action, female freshman of the year from the 2025 Mocsys,
Emily Jennewein owns a 13-6 overall record ranking from No. 2 singles to No.6. Another new face for the Mocs, is
Annika Berrendorf with a 12-5 overall record ranking from courts No. 3 to No. 6 with the majority of her time at court four with a 5-4 overall record. Primarily at court three,
Ronja Scheuermann is 10-5 with one win at court two. Scheuermann earned the clinch in the Mocs' biggest win of the season when they beat No. 5 Embry-Riddle with a 4-3 upset. At court six,
Kelly Klaren is 9-1 on the year and 10-2 on the year, having season some action on courts three and four as well. Besides Bryant, the other most consistent player is
Beatriz Costa, who is 6-10 on the season and playing all at the #2 courts to round out the singles spots for the Mocs.
For doubles, FSC is led at the #1 court by
Kennedi Brown and
Kelly Klaren who are paired for 26
th in the nation and a 9-10 record. The #2 and #3 courts in doubles have been filled primarily by Scheuermann and Jennewein at court #2 with a 14-4 overall and Berrendorf and
Jolie Miller at court #3 with a 12-5 record and 14-5 overall for experience this season.
No. 26/Fourth-Seed Fighting Knights | Roster | Schedule | Coaches | Stats
Lynn University battled with FSC in the last time out with a 4-3 regular-season finale and has two singles players in the top 75. Salma Djoubri leads Lynn with a No. 9 singles ranking and an 11-3 overall record, all at the #1 court, and is on an eight-match win streak. Mariia Vyshkina is No. 54 for singles with a 9-4 record, and 6-2 in conference play at courts one through three, with the majority of the wins at court two with a 6-3 record and 4-2 in the SSC. Other top players in the lineup could include Zofia Podbiol as a #5 court player, and other court help from Kristen Younes and Carla Galmiche.
In doubles, LU has a #1 court with Younes and Galmiche, who are ranked #5 as a duo with an 11-3 overall record. The Fighting Knights have seen several different duos at courts two and three, but when they faced the Mocs, it was Vyshkina and Podbiol at court two and Djourbri and Brooke Distasio at court three, both falling to the Mocs' doubles pairs.
Series Matchup
Since 1987, both teams have faced each other 42 times, most recently on March 29 when the Fighting Knights won 4-3 in Boca Raton. Overall, the Mocs are 0-42 against the Fighting Knights, with the last postseason matchup on April 21, 2017, when FSC lost 5-0 in the SSC semifinals. Among all conference postseason action against Lynn, FSC has a 5-0 record in the tournament dating back to 1999.
Tournament History
Florida Southern has a 21-37 overall record in the SSC tournament dating back to 1996, with 25 appearances. Mocs' last win was back in 2017 when the Mocs went 2-1 in the tourney, beating Saint Leo 5-1 and Rollins 5-3. This marks just the second year of a six-team bracket, as opposed to an eight-team field from previous tournaments the Mocs competed in.
Other Matches in SSC
The other SSC quarterfinal matchup features No. 42/sixth-seed Rollins versus No. 3/third-seed Nova Southeastern, also on Friday, April 25 at 1 p.m. No. 1 seed Barry and No. 2 seed Embry-Riddle have a first-round bye, with the winner of FSC's match taking on Barry on Saturday, April 26, at 1 p.m.
NCAA Postseason
Winners of each championship will receive automatic qualification to the 2025 NCAA Division II Championships. Regional rounds for the NCAA Championships will be played at non-predetermined sites between May 9 and 13. Finals for men will take place May 20-24 and finals for women will be from May 21-25. Both championships will be held at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Spring, Florida. The championships are hosted by Rollins College and Greater Orlando Sports Commission. The NCAA will announce postseason selections on Monday, May 5.
Barry leads the SSC with eight women's tennis national championships, including six consecutive titles from 2017 to 2023. Lynn is second in the SSC with three trophies, the last coming in 2001. Nova Southeastern took the 2024 title with a win over Barry in the finals. The first women's tennis national championship won by an SSC institution belongs to former member the University of North Florida, which took home the 1994 national title. From 1997 to 2024, the SSC sent a team to 20 championship matches, ending with 12 titles. SSC opponents have faced one another in the NCAA finals five times: Barry over Lynn in 2011, 2017, and 2019; Barry over Nova Southeastern in 2023; and Nova Southeastern over Barry in 2024.
