ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. — The end of an era is never easy.
On Wednesday night, the No. 11 Flagler College women's tennis team closed the chapter of its most successful season and said goodbye to a trio of seniors —
Eden Schlagenhauf,
Alessandra Traub and
Anika Nissen — who shaped the program into where it stood at the NCAA Division II National Championships Quarterfinals.
The result — a 4-0 loss to No. 1 Barry University — stung for the eighth-seeded Saints, but it symbolized the bond these six women created over the course of the year. Through adversity and resilience, the Saints made it to the Sweet Sixteen back-to-back years and appeared in the program's first Elite Eight to ink their name in the record books.
"I'm very proud of this group and the adversity the ladies faced all year to reach a program first," Flagler head coach
Rodrigo Puebla said. "This is a very special class as Anika, Alessandra and Eden leave as one of the most successful seasons since the beginning of the Division II era. These three led us to our first Peach Belt Conference regular-season and tournament championships, the first two Sweet Sixteen appearances, and topped it off with the very first Elite Eight. They will be missed, but what they did what Flagler will always be remembered by those who follow.
"I hope the success and the leadership from this trio will set the foundation for the years to come. We will be back."
Flagler (19-8) stayed close with Barry (26-0) in doubles before third-ranked Deniz Khazan/Madeline Bosnjak pulled away from a come-from-behind attempt of eighth-ranked
Luisa Hrda/
Eden Schlagenhauf, 6-3. The Bucs took the first point on court two when Helene Scholsen/Jil Engelmann won 6-0; meanwhile, the duo of
Addison Skye Breunich and
Florencia Massardo Brain were battling and tied at 4-all.
Barry continued the momentum into singles as Bosnjak won 6-1 in both sets on court five, Engelmann took the double-bagel win on court two, and Xiyao Wang clinched the match on court three, 6-2 and 6-2.
Be the first to know what's going on with the Saints -- Follow @FlaglerSports on Twitter, follow FlaglerSports on Instagram, become a fan of Flagler College Athletics on Facebook and subscribe to the Flagler College Athletics e-newsletter to receive the latest news, schedule updates and to interact with Flagler Athletics.
