On Friday, FAU women’s tennis  (8-12, 0-1 C-USA) took on one of the toughest opponents they face all season, the University of Maryland Terrapins (12-3, 1-1 C-USA), and were dealt their 12th loss by a score of 2-4 as the regular season winds down.

FAU Director of Tennis, Ricardo Gonzalez, was optimistic ahead of their matchup with the Terrapins, who were previously ranked 41st in the ITA top 75 before they dropped to 50th place per the ITA ranking as of March 21st. 

“It’s going to be a tough game,” said Gonzalez. “We don’t know how they do in outdoor conditions, but we are looking forward to the challenge.” 

The Owls’ hot start got them on the scoreboard first, winning doubles on court two thanks to the duo Victoria Gomez O’Hayon and Millie-Mae Matthews defeating the Maryland pair 6-1. That was followed by an FAU victory 6-4 on court one by Carla Galmiche and Martina Kudelova.

On the singles side, Kudelova gave the Owls a 2-0 lead on court one, winning by the margins of 6-1 and 6-3. 

The Owls tried to withstand Maryland’s comeback, as the Terrapins took sets two and three, which tied the game at 2-2. However, the Terrapins were too much to handle and pulled away with the victory from both courts four and six in the final sets by a margin of 6-2, conceding the victory to Maryland.

“One of the things that we always talk to the girls: ‘give it all you got,’” said Gonzalez. “I thought we did that very well today. And for the next match, we need to continue to do the same thing.” 

Gonzalez also mentioned his players are in a better state of mind as of late and are in much better spirits now than at the start of the season.

“We were dealing with injuries. The girls were being sick, being out for a month, with viruses,” said Gonzalez. “It was a tough start, very challenging. But we are peaking at the right time. We are playing good tennis.”

Before the team travels to Denton, Texas, for the Conference USA Championship from April 20 through April 23, the Owls are looking to close the regular season on a positive note against another tough opponent, their rivals, the Florida International University Panthers (12-3, 2-0 C-USA). 

The match is set for Friday, April 7, at 3 p.m. on the Owls’ home courts at the Kimberly V. Strauss Tennis Center in Boca Raton, Fla. 

Gasner Delvarin Jr. is a contributing writer for the University Press. For more information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected]