Box Score ST. AUGUSTINE – No. 24 (ITA Division II rankings) Flagler College played with emotion of wanting to send off its head coach, Walter Shinn, with a victory in the regular season finale Sunday against No. 41 Francis Marion University at the Flagler Tennis Center. The team achieved their goal with a 6-3 win and secured the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament.

Shinn coached his final match at Flagler today after a 35-year career that saw his teams win five NAIA national titles and was named NAIA Coach of the Year in each of those five seasons (1987-88-89-90-91). He was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame, but his season will go on with the conference tournament and the regional tournament on the horizon.

Flagler improved to 15-3 overall and 11-2 in the Peach Belt. The 11 conference wins are the most the Saints have recorded since joining the conference in 2010 season. The last time Flagler won 15 matches in a regular season was in 2004, when it went to the NAIA national championships. Francis Marion lost its second consecutive match and fell to 13-5 overall and 9-4 in conference play.

The Saints fell behind early as they won just one of the doubles matches. Krista Ingrilli and Kelly Stewart rolled past Caitlin Siney and Veronika Viegas 8-2 at No. 3.

Flagler dominated singles play. Kelly Stewart, playing her first match at No. 2 singles, defeated Julia Graf 4-6, 6-0 and 6-2. Hanna Goettsching downed Nora Westbye 7-6 (7-5) and 6-2 at No. 3 while Thaisa Pereira won her match over Kimberley Hurter 5-7, 6-1 and 6-0. Ingilli defeated Viegas 6-3 and 6-2 and Anika Cohen won her match as Siney had to retire.

#24 Flagler 6, #41 Francis Marion 3
Apr 13, 2014 at St. Augustine, Fla. (Flagler Tennis Center)


Singles competition
1. Samantha Koelliker (FMUW) def. Esther Santiago (FLG) 6-0, 6-3
2. Kelly Stewart (FLG) def. Julia Graf (FMUW) 4-6, 6-0, 6-2
3. Hanna Goettsching (FLG) def. Nora Westbye (FMUW) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
4. Thaisa Pereira (FLG) def. Kimberley Hurter (FMUW) 5-7, 6-1, 6-0
5. Krista Ingrilli (FLG) def. Veronika Viegas (FMUW) 6-3, 6-2
6. Anika Cohen (FLG) def. Caitlin Siney (FMUW) 6-4, 3-2, retired

Doubles competition
1. #16 Nora Westbye/Julia Graf (FMUW) def. Hanna Goettsching/Esther Santiago (FLG) 8-5
2. Samantha Koelliker/Kimberley Hurter (FMUW) def. Thaisa Pereira/Anika Cohen (FLG) 8-4
3. Krista Ingrilli/Kelly Stewart (FLG) def. Caitlin Siney/Veronika Viegas (FMUW) 8-2
 
Match Notes
Francis Marion 13-5, 9-4 PBC; National ranking #41; Regional ranking #7
Flagler 15-3, 11-2 PBC; National ranking #24; Regional ranking #3