Norfolk, Virginia (April 22, 2018) – No. 1 seed FIU won its first Conference USA Women's Tennis Championship Sunday afternoon in Norfolk, Va. The Panthers, who are ranked No. 37 in the Oracle/ITA National Tennis Rankings, defeated No. 2 seed and No. 43 Rice, 4-3, to earn an automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Women's Tennis Championship.
FIU won the doubles portion of the match to take a 1-0 lead. The duo of Nerma Caluk and Andrea Lazaro defeated Rice's Priya Niezgoda and Fernanda Astete, 6-4. Following the first win of the day, Maryna Veksler and Ulyana Grib, currently ranked at No.