Boca Raton, Fla.- Lynn University's women's tennis team defeated Tampa, 5-1, in the first round of the Sunshine State Conference tournament on Thursday morning. The Fighting Knights advance to 15-3 overall on the season and will face No. 7 Saint Leo in the SSC Semi-finals.

LU took a 2-1 lead after doubles when Alina Jane and Andrea Berkova defeated Thashia Garcia and Chloe Pereira, 8-3. Kim Przeszlowski and Aleks Vukadinovic lost to Kelsey Matthews and Lindsay Nochowicz, 8-4, which tied the match at 1-all. Third-ranked Valentine Confalonieri and Ioana Ivan  then gave Lynn the edge when they defeated No. 25 Lauren Hewett and Meg Wladimirski, 9-7.

No. 4 Confalonieri took on No. 40 Garcia in the top singles spot, winning in two sets of 6-0 to give LU its third point. No. 13 Ivan beat Wladimirski, 6-1, 6-1, putting the Blue and White within one point of victory. When Berkova beat Matthews, 6-0, 6-2, the match was halted as LU had clinched the 5-1 victory.  

Lynn will face the Lions of Saint Leo at 9am on Friday, April 19 at South County Regional Park in Boca Raton, Fla. The Fighting Knights look to get revenge on the Lions in the SSC Tournament. When the two met during the regular season, the then-ranked No. 12 Lions defeated LU 5-4. Fans can log on to www.LynnFightingKnights.com. 'Like' us on Facebook and follow @LUKnights on Twitter and Instagram for in-match updates all throughout the post season.