DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's tennis team capped off a three-match stretch against ranked opponents on Wednesday with a 5-2 loss to No. 9 Saint Leo at the Crotty Tennis Complex.
 
The match began with a 6-3 win by the Lions (2-0, 1-0 Sunshine State Conference) in doubles play with the No. 1 duo of Nina Furmaniak and Alina Fedulova besting Itxaso Blanco and Carla Cabrero del Hierro. Marta Vicens Miquel and Lavinia Lancellotti then downed Jessica Wira Hadipoernomo and Mafalda Soares by the same score in doubles No. 2 to take the opening point.  The Eagles' (0-3, 0-2 SSC) Julia Mautner and Sabrina Ehrenfort concluded the two-vs.-two action with a 6-4 win over Maria Valverde Soler and Celina Ermann.
 
In singles competition, Embry-Riddle fell behind 3-0 after Cabrera del Hierro was unable to upset No. 29 Vicens Miquel in the top-flight singles match, falling 6-0, 6-1. Soon after, Lancellotti defeated Mautner in two sets (6-2, 6-2) in No.6 singles.
 
Blanco had a fantastic battle with Furmaniak in No. 2 singles, needing a 9-7 tiebreaker to claim her opening set. In set two, the junior made quick work of her opposition with a 6-0 win to get her squad on the board.
 
Unfortunately, the Eagles were defeated at the conclusion of the No. 3 singles match. Ermann beat Ehrenfort 6-4, 6-0 to earn the fourth point for victory.
 
In the only three-set match of the day, Wira Hadipoernomo overcame a 1-0 set deficit against Fedulova in No. 4 singles by claiming the last two sets 7-5, 6-3 to give Embry-Riddle another point.
 
Seconds later, Valverde Soler beat Alessia Tripaldelli 6-3, 6-1 in No. 5 singles.
 
After the small stretch of conference contests, Embry-Riddle steps away from SSC competition with three non-conference matches in a seven-day span beginning with a trip to play Florida National in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Saturday at 1 p.m.