FLORENCE, S.C. – The Palm Beach Atlantic women's tennis team played its final day in the Florence City Collegiate tournament on Saturday.
 
The Sailfish started the day with a match in the second round against Francis Marion. After falling behind, 3-1, the Sailfish battled back to steal a 4-3 win to move on to the finals. The Sailfish were in position to win the tournament after taking a 3-1 lead against Newberry, but PBA dropped the match 4-3.
 
PBA faces off against Flagler in its next match on Feb 16. The match in St. Augustine, Fla. takes place at 1 p.m.
 
Match 1: PBA 4, Francis Marion 3
 
PBA grabbed an early lead in the match by earning the doubles point. Verena Weindl and Elvira Edstrom had a convincing 6-1 at No. 2 doubles. The team of Shelby Groeneveld and Yuliia Russu followed with a 6-4 win at the No. 1 position.
 
FMU quickly grabbed the momentum in singles play. The Patriots earned three straight wins starting with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Weindl at No. 4 singles. FMU followed up by winning at the No. 5 and No. 6 positions to take a 3-1 lead. 
 
The top of the Sailfish lineup came through in the clutch. Russu defeated Eva Zannier 6-2, 6-3 at the No. 2 spot, and Edstrom beat Elisa Lang, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 at No. 3 singles. It all came down to the match at the No. 1 court. Groeneveld came back to win 6-7, 7-6, 6-1 to clinch the match 4-3.
 
Match 2: Newberry 4, PBA 3
 
The second match for the Sailfish nearly mirrored the first match of the day as PBA was on the receiving end of a late comeback against Newberry. The 'Fish got on the board early in the match by winning the doubles point. The duo of Anabelle Rochibaud and Estefani Fernandez got the win at No. 3 doubles, 6-3. Groeneveld and Russu followed with a 6-2 win at the No. 1 spot to clinch the doubles point.
 
A win at No. 6 singles got Newberry on the board and tied the match a one. Robichaud won her match at No. 5 singles 6-0, 7-5, to regain the lead for the 'Fish. Russu earned a hard-fought victory at No. 2 singles, 6-1, 7-6 (8) to make it a 3-1 lead for PBA. Unfortunately for the 'Fish, they were unable to get that final point. They dropped matches at the No. 3, No. 1 and No. 4 singles to drop the match 4-3.