Women's tennis team tops St. Petersburg in Region VIII match

The Eastern Florida State College women's tennis team picked up a big Region VIII victory Thursday on the road.

The Titans, who are No. 9 in the ITA Collegiate Junior College rankings, defeated No. 5 St. Petersburg 5-4.

Eastern Florida State College picked up wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles to take a 2-1 lead into singles matches. Emma Sanchez and Helena Jokanovic won at No. 2 doubles and then Paige Noble Lucas and Luisa Renovales picked up a win at No. 3 doubles.

In singles action, St. Petersburg won the first two singles matches but Jokanovic came back after losing the first set 6-2 and then 4-1 in the second set. But Jokanovic battled back, winning five straight to tie things up and send it to a third set. It was close early and trailed 3-2 before winning four in a row to win the match.

The Titans improved to 2-2 in the conference with two matches remaining. They will travel to the State College of Florida-Manatee on Friday at 11 a.m. before wrapping up the conference season at Hillsborough Community College Friday, April 7.