Spartans Finish Season With Victory At SSC Tourney

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The University of Tampa (10-14) tennis team finished the 2009 season with a 5-3 win over Saint Leo University (9-17) at the Sunshine State Conference Tournament. The seventh place match was held at the campus of Broward Community College as Lynn University served as the tournament host.

After losing a pair of regular season matches to the Lions, Tampa took two of three doubles matches in the meeting. Kourtney Stark and Claire Runge turned in a 9-8 victory at the number one spot as they defeated the tandem of Lina Benkirane and Gina Schifano by a 7-1 mark in the tiebreaker.

The Spartans also claimed a doubles victory at the number three spot. The team of Lindsey Garyn and Megan Mancini topped Lara King and Brittany Fuhr by a score of 8-2.

In singles, Tampa notched the victory as it received wins from the number four, five and six slots. Runge defeated Schifano (3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3) while Garyn had no problems with King (6-0, 6-2). Mancini also claimed an easy 6-1, 6-1 victory over Fuhr.

The Spartans finish a season where its triumphs included the program's first victory over a NCAA Division I opponent (Green Bay) and a seven match winning streak while playing in arguably the nation's elite tennis conference. UT has now posted three consecutive seasons with double figure wins as all four years with 10-plus victories have come under current head coach Al DuFaux.