ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. - Fourth-ranked West Florida (20-6) defeated 12th ranked Abilene Christian (24-6), 5-1, at Sanlando Park during the round of 16 at the NCAA Division II Women's Championship. The Argonauts defeated the Wildcats to move on to Thursday's quarterfinal against sixth-ranked California University of Pennsylvania.
"This win gives us a lot of confidence going into the next match," said head coach Derrick Racine. "Whoever our opponent is going to be, I hope every one of us will be ready and will step up."
The Argonauts earned two points in doubles action. Suzana Cavalcante (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Paola Arevalo (Cali, Colombia) defeated their opponents without dropping a single game. Argonaut teammates Renata Mattos (Brazil) and Anne Claire Beard (Villevaude, France) defeated their opponents 8-4 to give the Argonauts the 2-1 lead.
Following the doubles action, the Argonauts earned three more points in singles action with straight sets victories. Mattos had a tough match in the fourth position, defeating her opponent 7-5, 6-3. Playing in the sixth position, Beard had to battle through a tie-break in the second set to improve her singles record to 13-4. Playing in the first position, fifth- ranked Cavalcante won 6-3, 6-3 to finish the match for West Florida.
West Florida will return to action tomorrow in the quarterfinals against sixth-ranked California University of Pennsylvania (28-1). It will be the first meeting between both teams. California University of Pennsylvania advanced to the quarterfinals with a 5-4 win over South Carolina-Upstate on Wednesday.
Results:
#1 Singles: Suzana Cavalcante (UWF) def. Aina Rafolomanantsiatosika (ACU) 6-3, 6-3
#2 Singles: Tammy Kevey (UWF) against. Irene Squilaci (ACU) DNF
#3 Singles: Mandy Septoe (UWF) against Meagan Brown (ACU), DNF
#4 Singles: Renata Mattos (UWF) def. Holly Lindloff (ACU), 7-5, 6-3
#5 Singles: Paola Arevalo (UWF) against Lana Pavlin (ACU), DNF
#6 Singles: Anne Claire Beard (UWF) def. Sarah Drummond (ACU), 6-2, 7-6(6)
#1 Doubles: H. Lindloff/L. Pavlin (ACU) def. T. Kevey/M. Septoe (UWF) 8-4
#2 Doubles: S. Cavalcante/P. Arevalo (UWF) def. M. Brown/A. Rafolomanantsiatosika (ACU), 8-0
#3 Doubles: R. Mattos/A. Berad (UWF) def. S. Drummond/I. Squilaci (ACU), 8-4
(By Gui Amaral Jasmin)