ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Nova Southeastern tennis team started strong in the Naval Academy’s Bill and Sandra Moore Invitational Friday, going 8-3 overall in doubles matches against top NCAA Division-I opposition.

The freshman/senior duo of Carlee Rizzolo (Fr., Livingston, N.J.) and Austin Lavallii (Sr., Willimaston, Mich.) are in contention to come out on top in the A-flight doubles bracket. Rizzolo made her fall debut alongside the team’s lone senior against the doubles team of Johnson/Turano from Manhattan and came out ahead, 8-3. They went on to defeat George Mason’s team of Delaney/Pappas by the same score to seal their spot in the semifinals. Tomorrow, the duo will be matched up against the Seton Hall team of Sher/Portela-Berrios for a spot in the A-flight finals.

The team with the most victories Friday was the tandem of Kamryn Blackwood (Jr., Farmington, N.M.) and Bianca Roberts (So., Fort Walden Beach, Fla.). The duo picked up three wins, starting off with a shutout of Manhattan’s Rosello/Clarke, 8-0. Blackwood and Roberts continued to cruise in the following rounds, defeating Seton Hall’s Rodriguez del Rosario/Guryanova and George Mason’s Erdenbat/Londen both by a score of 8-2. The pair has a match scheduled with the home team’s Antill/Winter on Saturday. The winner will advance to the B-flight final.

In the A-flight, All-American Alexandra Johansson (So., Sydney, Australia) and Charlotte Cote (So., Montreal, Canada) won their fall debut against Keenan/Shoemaker of Seton Hall, 8-4. However, the duo went on to drop a hard-fought match against Howard’s Stokes/Johnson, 9-7.

In the B-flight, two freshmen, Iryna Serdyuk (Boca Raton, Fla.) and Linda Kornienko (Fort Myers, Fla.), won their season-debuts in a close match against Towson’s Burke/Easdale, 9-7. However, they ended doubles play with a loss to Antill/Winter, 8-6. The freshman team came close to facing their teammates, Blackwood and Roberts, in tomorrow’s doubles play.

Another freshman duo went 1-1 in the B-flight, as newcomers Luisa Pintado (Guadalajara, Mexico) and Emily Hart (Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago) made their NSU debuts. In their win, the tandem shutout Monmouth’s Ellis/Teehan, 8-0. In their loss, the Sharks were taken down by Navy’s Sears/Fisbeck, 8-3.

The Sharks will conclude the doubles draws and begin singles play Saturday in day two of the Moore Invitational.