Tars Upset #20 Florida Southern on the Road

LAKELAND, Fla. (April 6, 2021) - The Rollins Tars scored a resume boost on Tuesday afternoon, traveling to Lakeland and defeating the #20 Florida Southern Mocs by a score of 4-3.

The Tars secured the first point of the day by sweeping all three doubles matches. Kaitlynn Groves and Eve Wasil were the first to dispatch their opponents on court three, winning by a decisive 6-1 final. The point was then locked on court two where Polina Vlasova and Maria McKay defeated Laura Vetter and Minnie Kim 6-3. Then for good measure, Rollins took the action on court one as well where Alexandra Borg and Georgina Groth took down Diana Baumgartnere and Flor Salerno, 6-4.

The Mocs made things interesting in singles play. The first battle to finish was on court five where Isabella Bolivar defeated Wasil 6-2, 6-2 to tie the match at one point each. Kaitlynn Groves reclaimed the lead for Rollins with a 6-0, 7-5 win against Emily Sidor. It was Groves' team-leading fifth singles win of the year. 

Florida Southern was able to tie it up once again at two points each when Vetter bested Borg on court two, 7-6, 6-2. The next pairing to wrap was the featured court where Groth secured her second singles one win of the year, taking down Kim 6-4, 6-4. The match was then clinched on singles four when Vlasova and Salerno battled it out in a tight one for three sets. Vlasova started with a 6-3 victory in set one, followed by Salerno winning 6-2 in set two. Vlasova was able to pull away in the final frame, winning 7-6 (7-3). With the match decided, the action was still raging on court six where Maria McKay and Olivia Bryant also went to three sets. In the end, Bryant was able to salvage an extra point for her team, winning 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.

With the win, Rollins moves to 3-4 on the year, while the Mocs drop to 4-3. The Tars will have more than a week off before their next match at Tampa on Wednesday, April 14.

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