Women’s Tennis Falls In Elite Eight

ORLANDO, Fla. (SEMINOLES.COM) — One of the most successful seasons in FSU women’s tennis program history came to a close Wednesday afternoon. The seventh-seeded Seminoles dropped their NCAA quarterfinal match 4-0 to No. 2 Texas to end the squad’s run at the NCAA Tournament. For FSU, the Elite Eight appearance was the second in the last three tournaments and equaled the best finish in school history. “I am just so proud of this group and the season they created for themselves and for our program during some of the most troubling times in our history,” said FSU Head Coach Jen Hyde. “It was through sheer commitment to this program, to one another, to this team, to wanting to take advantage of being a part of this great group, knowing we could succeed. I am grateful for their maturity and how they led this program. “Today is a rough day but there are so many things to be so proud of. To put ourselves on this stage, as we have consistently the last few years, Florida State tennis is a program to be reckoned with.” For just the second time in the last 12 matches, FSU was unable to secure the doubles point. Petra Hule and Giulia Pairone got the Seminoles off to the start they were seeking on court three with a 6-3 win but Texas closed out on both courts one and two to take the 1-0 lead. “Doubles was critical,” said Hyde. “There were a couple of big points, if we can snag those, there were two deuce points that would have made a significant difference in that match. We came out on the other side of it today sometimes that happens. We were close.” Facing four players all ranked in the top 76 in singles on the first four lines, Florida State knew it would have its work cut out to take points on four courts. After dropping the first set on all six courts, the Seminoles showed their maturity and fight to force third sets on three of four remaining courts after falling behind 3-0 but in the end, FSU was unable to pull out of the early hole. “We ran out of time a little bit,” said Hyde. “We had a pretty good push there in the second sets with 3, 4, 5 and 6. There is all fight and no fold in this team. They knew for us to win today it was probably going to be a full three sets across the board. Credit to Texas. They did a really good job jumping out to those early leads and it is tough playing from behind in the Elite Eight. “We hung in there and we fought. We talked about leaving it all out there and there is no question in my mind this team left it out there today as they did all season up to the last ball that was struck. I couldn’t have asked any more of these young ladies.” For more information about the 2021 FSU women’s tennis team, follow us on social at FSUWTennis (IG) and @FSU_WTennis (TW) and log on to Seminoles.com.