TAMPA, Fla. (April 10, 2025) – The Rollins College women's tennis team grabbed an impressive 4-3 victory on the road at the University of Tampa in a resilient effort. After dropping the doubles point, the Tars rallied behind impressive performances on the singles courts to snatch the conference win.
The Tars fell on the doubles courts to open up Thursday's duel with the Spartans, falling on court one and court three. The lone bright spot for the Tars on the doubles courts came from Milla Falster and Stella Fruijtier, who teamed up to grab a win on court two.
Onto the singles courts, where the Tars picked up from the momentum established in their lone doubles win. Fruijtier rolled right through her match, grabbing a 6-1, 6-2 win while her counterpart, Falster, also won 6-3, 6-2 on court three. Also grabbing a win early on for the Tars was Amina Abdulloeva, who finished before any of her teammates on the singles end thanks to a dominant, 6-1, 6-0 performance on six.
Following the quick wins for the Tars, and with three matches still in progress, Rollins just needed one win to secure the conference road victory. One court one, sophomore Nancy Liu fell 6-4, 7-6 in a tight battle. Polina Vlasova also dropped her match on the second court, leaving the final decision up to the match being played on court four. In a back and forth duel, Nina Mitrofanova showed her toughness. Winning the first set, 6-4, the graduate student fell by the same score in set two, leading to a make or break third set. Mitrofanova hunkered down and grinded out a 6-4 victory in the third set, sealing her fourth win in the last five contests and doing the same for her team.
Rollins head coach Tasi Purcell Batista had this to say about the gritty road win:
"Today was another team effort against a conference opponent. Road matches are always a challenge, and Tampa played well. We will continue to put in the work."
The Tars record improves to 4-4 in SSC play and 11-6 on the season. The women return to USTA's National Collegiate Campus on Tuesday to square off with St. Thomas University. Prior to the 3:00 pm first serve, the men's and women's teams will honor their senior athletes with a special ceremony at 1:30 pm.
