(Results)
LAKELAND, Fla. ( Oct. 2, 2023) – Florida National University’s women’s and men’s tennis teams had an excellent weekend at the YTF Southeastern Invitational hosted by the Southeastern Fire. From Sept. 29 to Oct. 1, the Conquistadors faced tough NAIA and NCAA competitions including Warner University, Saint Leo University, the University of Tampa and Flagler College.
In the women’s single red draw, FNU’s Fabiola Bsereni and Vanessa Simone ran through the bracket with impressive skill. Simone earned victories over Warner’s Alizee Piette 6-0, 6-1, Rebekah Schnatz from Southeastern 7-6, 6-0, [10-6], and Alexandra Warchausky 6-1, 6-2. Bsereni had a first-round bye but found quick success with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Saint Leo’s Paris Marozzelli and a 6-3, 7-5 rout of Nadezda Bijelic out of Southeastern.
In the women’s black draw, Nadia Abad had an early victory versus Cheyenne Houkes 2-6, 6-4 [13-11] but fell later in the afternoon versus Nicole Cierniak 5-7, 0-6. Doubles play saw Natalia Calvo and Abad lose their lone match of the tournament versus UT’s Anine Wilberg and Savannah Williams 8-2.
The men’s court for Florida National was just as exciting. Sebastian Fujita won all three of his matches during his stay in Lakeland, Fla. Fujita defeated Warner’s Jake Edwards 6-2, 6-3, Joel Stuboeck from Saint Leo 6-2, 7-5, and Southeastern’s Sam Reeder 6-3, 7-6. Luis Figueroa put up a solid effort versus SEU’s Riley Dodd on day one of the tournament. After falling behind in the first set 6-1, Figueroa climbed his way back into contention before falling 7-5 in the second.
Men’s doubles partners, Guido Gentile and Alejandro Suarez handed the Fire’s Dodd and Reeder an 8-5 loss, but the FNU pair would withdraw from their next scheduled match. Bryan Cajamarca and Figueroa were unable to extend their time on the doubles court, losing 8-2 to the Fire’s Victor De Oliveira and Alejandro Fernando Orihuela.
