Wolves fall to no.2 Flagler in NCAA Tournament

ST. AUGUSTINE, FLA. - Newberry College Women’s tennis battles it out with #6 in the nation, Flagler College. in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Wolves came as best prepared to the sunshine state as they could for the first round of regionals. Due to weather conditions on the original match day, the Wolves had to wait till Saturday, May 11th to play. Due to the date switch, this resulted in the absence of court five powerhouse Aina Miralles sending the Wolves into the match down 0-1.

Despite the adversities, the Wolves put on a show at Flagler.

Making her collegiate debut on one of the biggest stages, freshman Sarah Wells held it down on court five. Making sure to play the match at her own pace, Wells used her strong forehand swing to gain some points on the Saint, and forced multiple deuces.

Court four went unfinished but saw a lot of excitement coming from sophomore Hazel Vernon. Despite dropping her first set, Vernon started her singles play getting a 2-0 lead on the Saint. With a couple deuces and constant back and fourth play, the young Wolf can go into next season with a lot of momentum.

Alexa Gamborino-Suarez had the best showing out of all the Wolves during her match on court three. Also going unfinished, Alexa was in the middle of a triumphant comeback against the Saint. Showing plenty of gas in the tank, Alexa won her third point in the first set just before the match ended.

Freshman Renee Dorval was making plenty of noise against the #50 ranked singles player in the nation, Dana Heiman. Dropping the first set, Dorval was going blow for blow and showing no signs of slowing down against Heiman. Her match also went unfinished with the second set being tied 2-2.

Sofia Cardenas had the seemingly impossible task of defeating the #3 ranked singles player in the nation, Nadja Meier. Fighting till the very end, Cardenas was able to take a point in the second set against the decorated Saint. Despite the outcome Cardenas refused to waiver in her match, picking up crucial individual set points.