Women’s Tennis Opens 2026 with a Close Road Loss

Friday, January 16

Jacksonville, Fla.

1 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

North Florida

1/16/2026 6:06:00 PM | Women's Tennis

BOCA RATON, Fla. – In its first match of 2026, Florida Atlantic women's tennis fell 4-3 to North Florida on Friday afternoon.

The Owls move to 0-1 with four away contests remaining prior to their first home match, scheduled for 4 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 30 versus Syracuse. UNF moves to 2-0 on the year.

THE BEGINNING
The dominant 2025 doubles team of Malwina Rowinska and Lara Smejkal returned to the courts and made their mark in their first contest of 2026 with a 6-0 top-court win over UNF. Both courts two and three battled back from a 3-1 deficit. The court #2 duo of Panna Bartha and Katrin Pavkova clinched the doubles point for the Owls by closing out their match 6-3. The freshman duo of Alexia Patru and Malika Amirgaliyeva saw their collegiate debut match abandoned at 3-5.

THE MIDDLE
The teams moved into singles play with a 1-0 lead, one they would need as the singles began to play out. UNF picked up court #2 and #4 to take a 2-1 lead. Smejkal captured singles court #3 to even the contest at 2-2.

THE END
UNF took the 3-2 lead with a three-set win on court #1, putting all the pressure courts #5 and #6 where two true freshmen were in back-and-forth contests. The Osprey needed one of the two courts and the Owls needed both to capture the match.

FAU freshman Patru evened the score at 3-3 with a straight set 6-4, 7-5 court #6 win. UNF denied a win on court #5 with a three-set win to clinch the match at 4-3. The loss is the first in the regular season for the program since April 13, 2024.

THE RESULTS
Florida Atlantic at North Florida
at Jacksonville, Fla. | (UNF Tennis Complex)
Doubles
#1 Lara Smejkal / Malwina Rowinska (FAU) def. Laurie Barendse / Nicole Alfaro Solis (UNF) 6-0
#2 Panna Bartha / Katrin Pavkova (FAU) def. May Fadida / Aryana Bartlett (UNF) 6-3
#3 Alexia Patru / Malika Amirgaliyeva (FAU) vs Gabby Goyins / Jasmin Makela (UNF) 3-5
Order of finish: 1,2

Singles
#1 Malwina Rowinska (FAU) vs. Laurie Barendse (UNF) 6-2, 0-6, 6-3
#2 Aryana Bartlett (UNF) def. Panna Bartha (FAU) 6-2, 6-3
#3 Lara Smejkal (FAU) def. Nicole Alfaro Solis (UNF) 6-4, 6-2
#4 May Fadida (UNF) def. Katrin Pavkova (FAU) 6-1, 7-5
#5 Gabby Goyins (UNF) def. Malika Amirgaliyeva (FAU) 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
#6 Alexia Patru (FAU) def. Jasmin Makela (UNF) 6-4, 7-5
Order of finish: 2,4,3,1,6

UPCOMING MATCHES
THIS WEEK
The Owls will remain in Jacksonville for a neutral-site match versus Georgia Southern for a neutral site match. The Owls are the holders of the all-time series at 3-1. The two teams last met back on March 16, 2017, with the Owls proving to be the 4-2 victor.

Florida Atlantic vs. Georgia Southern (UNF Tennis Complex)
Florida Atlantic versus Georgia Southern at UNF	Jacksonville, Fla. \| Saturday, Jan. 17 \| 10 a.m.
Match Links	Live Stats
Florida Atlantic Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Stats
Georgia Southern Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Stats

FAU will then travel to Houston where the Owls will play a non-conference match against fellow American Conference member Rice.

Florida Atlantic vs. Georgia Southern (George R Brown Tennis Center)
Florida Atlantic at Rice	Houston, Texas \| Monday, Jan. 19 \| 11 a.m.
Match Links	Live Stats and Video
Florida Atlantic Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Stats
Rice Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Stats

The match will be the sixth between the two teams, with the Florida Atlantic Owls looking for their first win.

COMPLETE SCHEDULE
For a complete schedule, click HERE.

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