Feb. 15, 2008

Tallahassee, FL - The 22^nd-ranked Florida State women's tennis team continued their dual match winning streak on Friday as the squad improved to 7-0 with a win over No. 30 Auburn (4-2). Facing their toughest opponent to date, FSU won four of six singles matches and the doubles point to down the Tigers 5-2. Florida State extended its match win streak to 54 before the run was broken in the second singles match of the day.

"Going into today we knew it was going to be a bit of a dog fight because Auburn is a very competitive team," said FSU Head Coach Jennifer Hyde. "We knew that we were going to have to match and exceed that (competitiveness). We did not play our best tennis but more importantly we had a willingness to hang in there and make them hit one more ball, to stay in points a little bit longer and that made a huge difference today."

Despite seeing Katie Rybakova, the 16^th-ranked player in the nation, fall in a dual match for the first time in her collegiate career the Seminoles went on to win the next three matches to secure the victory. The win increased FSU's lead in the all-time series with Auburn to 12-2.

"One of the great things about this team is they have such a great competitive spirit," said Hyde. "That isn't something you can really coach or teach. They either have it or they don't. That was great to see."

Federica Seuss got Florida State off to a great start. The freshman from Germany recorded the first singles win of the day playing in the sixth slot as she dispatched Auburn freshman Gaby Beelen 6-2, 6-3. It improved Seuss' record to a perfect 8-0 on the year.

Auburn evened the singles up at 1-1 when sophomore Fani Chifchieva knocked off FSU's No. 1 singles player Rybokova 6-3, 7-6 (7-3). Even with the loss Rybokova seemed to lift the Seminoles as she fought back from 5-1 down to send the second set into a tie-breaker. At one point the freshman was down to her last point in the seventh game but she came back and won four straight games.

"Anytime people next to you on a court are hanging in there and they are close to losing but they keep holding on and keep pushing, it makes everyone on the courts better," said Hyde. "Katie did show a lot of courage today hanging in there and trying to stay in there as long as possible. I do think that really helped Lauren (Macfarlane) who was playing on the court next to her. She was in a really tight match in the second set. It allowed her to stay focused and it kept the crowd in the match. It was good to see Katie hang in there as long as she did."

Following the first Seminole loss in a dual match this season, FSU responded as Carolin Walter, Lauren Macfarlane and Jessica Wente all went on to close out their matches. Walter won 6-3, 6-3 in the third slot, Macfarlane picked up a big win on court two 6-4, 7-5 to clinch the victory and Wente then added to the point total by storming back from a loss in the first set to win her match 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.

"It was great to be tested," said Hyde. "We needed a match where we had to perform under pressure. This is a great match for us going forward with Florida on Wednesday night."

Earlier in the day FSU won all three doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead heading into singles. Wente and Macfarlane got things started with their 11^th straight doubles victory downing Auburn's No. 2 doubles team 8-5. Rybakova and Ania Rynarzewska won their match on court three 8-6 and then Walter and Seuss closed the doubles out with an 8-7 (7-2) win.

The Seminoles will take their perfect record to Gainesville Wednesday night as the team looks to break a 31-game streak without a win against the Gators. The two rivals will meet at 5:00 p.m.

"We are excited to play Florida in Gainesville and the girls are gong to be geared up and ready to go," said Hyde. "We expect it to be a crazy crowd in Gainesville. We are looking forward to it. We are looking forward to coming in there and seeing what we can do."

SINGLES

No. 1    Fani Chifchieva (AUB)              6          7 (7-3)

            Katie Rybakova (FSU)              3          6

No. 2    Lauren Macfarlane (FSU)         7          6

            Alex Haney                              5          4         

No. 3   Carolin Walter (FSU)               6          6

            Whitney Chappell (AUB)          3          3

No. 4   Jessica Wente (FSU)                3          6          7

            Melissa Konig (AUB)               6          3          5

No. 5   Jill Hastenrath (AUB)                6          7

            Ania Rynarzewska (FSU)          2          5

No. 6   Federica Seuss (FSU)             6          6

            Gaby Beelen (AUB)                 2          3

ORDER OF FINISH: 6, 1, 3, 2, 4, 5

DOUBLES

No. 1    Walter/Seuss (FSU)                              8 (7-2)

            Chifchieva/Konig (AUB)                       7

No. 2    Wente/Macfarlane                                8

            Haney/Chappell                                     5         

No. 3   Rybakova/Rynorzewska (FSU)            8

            Hastenrath/Beelen                                 6

ORDER OF FINISH: 2, 3, 1

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