Women’s Tennis Squeezes Past Princeton 4-2, Ranked #45

Monday, March 18

Boca Raton, Fla.

10 a.m.

Florida Atlantic

Princeton

2019 FAU Women's Tennis vs Miami Kristen Thoms 2019

Photo by: JC Ridley/Owlpix.com

3/18/2019 3:41:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score

Matches are free and open to the public

Kristen Thoms, Florida Atlantic University's lone women's tennis senior, clinched the a match for the third time Monday among the Owls' eight wins. The 4-2 victory over No. 45 Princeton moves FAU's record to 8-7 on the season with one regular season contest remaining. That match, versus Wisconsin, will be Thoms' final match in Boca Raton. It is scheduled for Tuesday morning at 10 a.m.

Cava's Chatter

"I couldn't be happier with our win today over Princeton," said Marcy Cava, FAU's head women's tennis coach. "They are an accomplished team, so I knew it would be a battle. Thoms was the clinch match today, which makes it her third one of this season. Thoms' ability to thrive under pressure is awesome."

Notable

Electing to play singles first, due to predicted showers, the Owls quickly found themselves trailing on five of the six courts and that deficit only expanded, but surprisingly FAU dropped just three of the first sets, on courts 2, 5 and 6
On court 1, Martina Kudelova, who has won nine of her last 10 and six straight, battled back to win her match 6-4, 6-1 and even the match at 1-1
Playing one of her quickest matches of the season and really never trailing was Natalie Kallmunzeerova on court 4 to move FAU ahead 2-1
Princeton picked up its second point on court 3 with a three-set victory to pull even at 2-2
The focus turned to the back courts, where both were trailing. Barbora Palcatova seemed to take control of her match as soon as the third set began and rolled to a 6-2 final set win to put the Owls up 3-2. A win on court 5 would give the Owls the win, a loss would force three-court doubles play to decide the match
With all eyes on court three, the duo, who split sets one and two, were even at games three, four, five and six forcing the climatic third-set tiebreaker, which Thoms ran away with at 7-2 for the match decider

Full Results: FAU 4, Princeton 2
Singles
#1 Martina Kudelova (FAU) def. Stephanie Schrage (PRIN) 6-4, 6-1
#2 Brianna Shvets (PRIN) def. Natalia Boltinskaya (FAU) 6-3, 6-2
#3 Grace Joyce (PRIN) def. May Kimhi 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
#4 Natalie Kallmunzerova (FAU) def. Clare McKee (FAU) 6-3, 6-3
#5 Kristen Thoms (FAU) def. Natalie Rodilosso (PRIN) 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2)
#6 Barbora Palcatova (FAU) def. Tiffany Chen (PRIN) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
Order of Finish: 2,1,4,3,6,5

What's Next

FAU women's tennis will wrap up the 2019 regular season on Tuesday versus Wisconsin at 10 a.m. at the FAU Tennis Complex. The contest will be the final home match for Thoms. To follow the team, visit FAUsports.com. Live stats are available HERE. Fans can also follow via Twitter at @FAUAthletics.