DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The third-ranked Embry-Riddle women's tennis team closed out the 2015 regular season campaign with a 6-3 win over No. 8 Northwood, Wednesday at the Crotty Tennis Complex. The Eagles, who will be transitioning to NCAA II in 2015-16, wrapped up their final season in The Sun Conference with a second-place league finish at 6-1 and are guaranteed the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, which begins April 16.
 
The match opened with the Eagles taking two of three doubles matches. Teaming up for the first time since the fall, Meena Bennett and Giovanna Tomiotto got the Eagles' first point via an 8-2 defeat of Livia Toth and Lola Garcia at No. 3. Matilde Thibadult and Rocia Merlo evened things up by holding off Paula Ortiz Couder and Kathryn Bock 8-6 on court two, but an 8-6 win by Hui-I Huang and Anna Götz over Adelaide Wood and Valentina Souki put the Eagles back on top heading into singles play.
 
Ortiz Couder was the first to finish her singles match as she topped Thibadult 6-3, 6-2 on court three. Down 4-1 in the first at the No. 2 spot, Götz fought back to take the set 6-4 and gave the Eagles their fourth point with a 6-2 decision against Souki in the second frame.
 
Playing at the fourth flight, Tomiotto dropped the first set to Merlo, 6-2, but was able to rebound to win the second by the same margin and force a decisive third set. After Tomiotto took an early 5-2 lead in the third, Merlo rallied to win the next two games to make the score 5-4, but Tomiotto was able to register a break in Merlo's next service game to win the match and score the clinching point for the Blue and Gold.
 
Northwood earned victories at the first and fifth spots as 13th-ranked Wood edged No. 27 Huang 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 in a rematch of the 2014 ITA Regional final, and Toth held off Bock 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.
 
The last match off the court was the sixth flight singles contest, which also needed three sets to determine the outcome. Bennett dropped the first frame to Garcia 6-2, but won easily in the second set 6-1 before pulling out a 13-11 victory in the third set to cap the scoring for the Blue and Gold.
 
 
Embry-Riddle 6, Northwood 3
 
 Singles competition
1. #13 Adelaide Wood (NU) def. #27 Hui-I Huang (ERAUW14) 7-6 (7-4), 7-5
2. Anna Gotz (ERAUW14) def. Valentina Souki (NU) 6-4, 6-2
3. Paula Ortiz Couder (ERAUW14) def. Matilde Thibadult (NU) 6-3, 6-2
4. Giovanna Tomiotto (ERAUW14) def. Rocia Merlo (NU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
5. Livia Toth (NU) def. Kathryn Bock (ERAUW14) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
6. Meena Bennett (ERAUW14) def. Lola Garcia (NU) 2-6, 6-1, 13-11
 
 Doubles competition
1. Hui-I Huang/Anna Gotz (ERAUW14) def. Adelaide Wood/Valentina Souki (NU) 8-6
2. Matilde Thibadult/Rocia Merlo (NU) def. Paula Ortiz Couder/Kathryn Bock (ERAUW14) 8-6
3. Meena Bennett/Giovanna Tomiotto (ERAUW14) def. Livia Toth/Lola Garcia (NU) 8-2
 
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (3,2,4,5,1,6)
Tomiotto clinched at No. 4 singles