Daytona Beach, Fla. (April 1, 2026) – Rollins met a tough Embry-Riddle team Wednesday afternoon for a highly anticipated, top ten road contest. With the second position of the conference standings up for grabs, the Eagles bested the Tars 5-2.
The crucial doubles point went to the home team via a sweep amid duo action. Embry-Riddle primed themselves to take a quick lead from the middle, drawing up a 6-1 score on court two. From there, court one went the Eagles way at the hands of a 6-4 victory. Finally, a 6-3 decision from the third pairing gave the nation's third ranked team wins across the board.
The Tars would not go down without a fight, though. Especially when it came to the top of the lineup. While Embry-Riddle doubled their lead in straight set fashion from court six, the other bookend was a different story.
Alyssa Novoa, who slotted in at number four in the
latest ITA Singles rankings, was as good as advertised. Her decisive, 6-1, 6-4 victory marks the newcomer's second straight sweep of a top twenty opponent. Better yet, that makes for five wins against adversaries owning a top twenty-five designation. Novoa's match clinch brought the Tars within one. Unfortunately, Rollins would not draw any closer.
The Eagles placed themselves on the doorstep of victory from court three. The home team controlled in a straight setter, but the Tars quickly replicated in the same fashion from line two. This time, it was
Nisan Can's turn to join the party. This afternoon, the Turkey native earned accolades with a top fifty ranking, the first national nod of the season for the Delaware Blue Hen transfer. Today, she certainly proved why she deserved the recognition. Can's 6-3, 6-3 win supplies yet another sweep, her fourth consecutive.
Further, Can's SSC victory is her sixth conference win of the season. Meanwhile, Novoa now stands at 7-0 against conference foes. Dating back to the start of this decade, the only other Tar to have at least six conference wins? None other than current assistant coach,
Katie Groves.
Embry-Riddle's Daniela Fernandez narrowly grabbed the upper hand from
Lorin Tilipman in the first set on court four. Fernandez's tiebreaking win provided some momentum that she leveraged on the way to winning in straight sets.
A similar script followed on court five.
Amina Abdulloeva fought but fell 7-5 in set one. From there, the Eagles seized control again in set two.
Altogether, it goes in as a conference loss for your Tars, dropping them now to 5-2 in league play and 12-5 overall. After the match, head coach
Tasi Purcell Batista had this to say to one writing columnist:
"Embry-Riddle historically always plays a tough match. The team went into the match confident, but our energy wasn't consistent through the entirety of the afternoon."
The teams are now all square at ten wins apiece across the last twenty meetings.
Coach Tasi continued, "Alyssa and Nisan played great matches and I'm proud of them. We'll get back to work and be ready to come back home in a week."
A shot at redemption will get underway next Wednesday when twelfth ranked Lynn swings through town. The joust with the Fighting Knights is set to commence at 2pm.
Check back in at
Rollinssports.com for the latest news, notes and headlines as the Tars prepare for the final stretch of the regular season!
