BOCA RATON, Fla. – The seventh-ranked Saint Leo women's tennis team began their march through the Sunshine State Conference Championships as the second-seeded Lions defeated the No. 7 seed Florida Tech Panthers, 5-1 in the quarterfinal round at South County Regional Park on Thursday afternoon.

The Lions (16-4) swept through doubles with the No. 2 tandem of Emily Singleton and Laura Kemkes as well as the top duo of Maria Benkirane and Pauline Helgesson handling their competitors from Florida Tech (14-9) with ease.  It was the No. 3 doubles matchup featuring Coralie Pesenti and Adrianna Daszkiewicz that was the closest at 8-5.

On the singles' side, Kristina Huba, ranked fifth in the nation, managed a 6-1, 6-1 victory at No. 1 for the Panthers' only win of the match.  Benkirane and Phoebe Di Leo managed to sweep their FIT opponents at the Nos. 4 and 6 sports respectively to reach the required five points for the match win.

With the victory, the Lions will advance for a rematch with No. 3 seed Lynn University on Friday morning in the semifinal round. The two teams met earlier in the season at the Saint Leo Tennis Center with the Lions pulling off the 5-4 upset over the then-second ranked Fighting Knights.  It was the first win Saint Leo had ever managed over Lynn in SSC history.  The match is scheduled to get underway at 9 a.m.

#7 Saint Leo 5, #20 Florida Tech 1
04/18/13 at Boca Raton, Fla. (South County Regional Park)