Owls Advance to Semifinals with 4-1 Win Over No. 50 Charlotte

Friday, April 23

Denton, Texas

2 PM

Florida Atlantic

Charlotte

Owls Advance to Semifinals with 4-1 Win Over No. 50 Charlotte

4/23/2021 5:10:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score

DENTON, Texas – The Florida Atlantic University women's tennis team (10-6), seeded No. 5 at the 2021 Conference C-USA Championship, defeated No. 4 seed Charlotte (21-7), ranked No. 50 nationally, 4-1, on Friday. With the victory, the Owls advance to the semifinals, scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday.

FAU, who had previously defeated Charlotte 4-1 in North Carolina less than a month ago, dropped the doubles point, but quickly took control of the singles matches, on nearly every court. Sophomore Radka Buzkova was the first to capture her match with a 6-1, 6-0 win on court No. 4, tying the team score at 1-1. Senior Natalie Kallmunzerova had nearly the same score at 6-1, 6-2 on court No. 5 to put the Owls up 2-1.

The hardest blow to the 49ers' hopes was a 6-4, 6-2 victory by FAU's Martina Kudelova, whose court No.1 opponent was ranked No. 83 nationally, and then senior Natalia Boltinskaya clinched the match for the Owls on court No. 2 in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.

Wheelen's Wisdom

"What a win today," said Caroline Wheelen, FAU's head coach. "We battled Charlotte much better than the last time we played them. Charlotte comes out really strong, but we knew our conditioning is where it needs to be to outlast most opponents and that eventually we can take over the match. Once again, the mental work we have done all year is coming into play. I'm so proud of how professionally FAU won this match."

Results

Florida Atlantic 4, No. 50 Charlotte 1
Singles competition
1. Kudelova, Martina (FAU-W) def. #83 Ruxi Schech (CLT) 6-4, 6-2
2. Boltinskaya, Natalia (FAU-W) def. Margaux Maquet (CLT) 6-3, 6-4
3. Kimhi, May (FAU-W) vs. Rocio Safont (CLT) no result
4. Buzkova, Radka (FAU-W) def. Kaavya Sawhney (CLT) 6-1, 6-0
5. Kallmunzerova, Natalie (FAU-W) def. Jenna Dean (CLT) 6-1, 6-2
6. Emma Wilkins (CLT) vs. Filip, Katerina (FAU-W) 4-6, 1-5, unfinished

Doubles competition
1. Kaavya Sawhney/Ruxi Schech (CLT) vs. Buzkova, Radka/Kudelova, Martina (FAU-W) 4-5, unfinished
2. Jenna Dean/Margaux Maquet (CLT) def. McLelland, Louie/Boltinskaya, Natalia (FAU-W) 6-3
3. Emma Wilkins/Rocio Safont (CLT) def. Kimhi, May/Filip, Katerina (FAU-W) 6-2

Match Notes:
Florida Atlantic 10-6
Charlotte 21-7; National ranking #50
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (4,5,1,2)

What's Next

The Owls will next face the tournament's No. 1 see Old Dominion on Saturday at 1 p.m. EST. Follow the Owls socially @fauwtennis or visit www.fausports.com.