NASHVILLE – The Lipscomb University women's tennis team overcame a near five-hour rain delay and a deficit to defeat the University of North Florida for the first time in program history with a 4-2 win Friday afternoon from the Huston-Marsh-Griffith Tennis Center. 

Prior to the start of the match, the Bisons honored its lone senior, Rut Galindo. 

Final Score: Lipscomb 4, North Florida 2
Location: Huston-Marsh-Griffith Tennis Center. 
Records: Lipscomb (12-6, 6-3), North Florida (10-7, 6-2)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Midway through doubles action, the match was suspended due to rain in the area. The match was delayed nearly five hours before play resumed. Once the match started back up, North Florida came out with the momentum. 

However, on court one, despite a 4-1 lead dwindling down to 4-3, Sofiia Paladi and Mariia Dolzhenko (7-6) picked up the final two games to win the first flight. 

After UNF took the third flight, the team point came down to Deborah Dominguez Collado and Rut Galindo. A back-and-forth battle, the set was forced into a tiebreak. Tied at four, Laurie Barendse and Anslee Long won the next three games to get out to a 1-0 team lead. 

In singles, the Bisons quickly got on the board with victories at the top two flights. Paladi (26-7) finished the spring schedule with a 15-2 record after knocking out Laurie Barendse, 6-1, 6-1. 

Right next to her on court two, Dolzhenko (21-10) picked up her 13th win of the season with a 6-2, 6-3 over Isabel Oliveira to take the 2-1 lead. 

Dominguez Collado (10-8) used a second set tiebreak to take down Gabby Goyins, 6-2, 7-6 (5) to move to a 3-1 lead. 

UNF inched closer to getting back into it with the Ospreys win on court six, 3-2, but the Bisons kept the fight. On court four, Galindo (10-8) rallied from a first set loss to Long. However, on her senior day, she won the next two sets to clinch the match for the Bisons with identical 6-2 victories for her fourth straight win.

HERD NOTES
For Lipscomb, this is the first time in program history they defeated North Florida in women's tennis. Playing in its 21st meeting all-time on Friday, the first meeting came in 2007. 

UP NEXT
With the regular season in the books, Lipscomb has qualified for the 2025 ASUN Championship, which starts Thursday, April 17 from the North Florida campus in Jacksonville. 

The Bisons are headed to the conference championship for the third straight season and the 16th in program history. The Bisons have won five matches in the postseason, most recently in 2021, and have advanced to the semifinals six times. 

With the ASUN regular season schedule going through to Sunday, the Bisons will know seeding and opponent when play concludes.