Women's tennis team fared well on Day 1 of Region 8 Tournament

The Eastern Florida State College women's tennis team put itself in position to earn a berth into the NJCAA Division I National Championship Tournament at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs Friday.

The Titans started out slowly but rebounded with wins in all three doubles matches, putting them in position to earn one of the three spots in the national tournament on Saturday.

"You have to step up your play and not let what happened in the morning effect the doubles and I think they realized that and played really solid," Eastern Florida State College women's tennis coach Bobby Cashman said. "I think we ended on a positive because we won the doubles but I think we were a little sluggish, some played better than others but we had some chances and didn't finish and this time of year you have to finish."

The day began with wins from Shaeda Nickle in No. 5 singles and Emma Othmer at No. 6 for a quick two points.

After getting a bye in the first round, Yuliana Monroy came back to win the second set 7-5 to advance to the final where she will play St. Petersburg's Claire Mullins at 9 a.m. Saturday.

After a break, the three doubles teams took the court and dominated the first round. The duo of Othmer and Jaime Duque notched the first win against the State College of Florida Manatee, winning 6-0, 6-0.

The No. 2 doubles team of Dugleisy Linarez and Nickle cruised against St. Petersburg and the No. 1 doubles team of Monroy and Sarah Manseri picked up a win over Broward.

The final day will begin with the singles finals at 9 a.m. with semifinals and finals of doubles scheduled for later in the day.

Teams pick up a point for every win in the main draw and a half a point for consolation wins.