CHARLOTTE, N.C.-The Long Island University women's tennis team competed in the 49er Invite hosted by Charlotte at the Halton-Wagner Complex on Friday and Saturday.
 
Four members of the team traveled down to North Carolina, Elinor Storkaas, Valentina Dancenco, Ekaterine Jorjoliani, and Bianca Compuesto. In the hidden-dual, round robin style tournament, the Sharks were paired up with Princeton to form a team of eight and competed against Eastern Carolina University, Charlotte, and Coastal Carolina University.
 
Due to inclement weather on Sunday, the 49er Invite was condensed into two days, Friday and Saturday. The Sharks had strong performances throughout the weekend, including some hard-fought battles into the third set tie breaks.
 
"We played some very solid tennis this weekend which I am happy about," said head coach Jan Griga. "We competed well and stayed with our opponents often building a sizable lead but in parts fell just short in capitalizing on the opportunities we created. An aspect that we have to continue to work on and improve."  
 
The No. 2 doubles team of Dancenco/Jorjoliani won all three matches played this weekend. The duo beat Sofia Anthony/Victoria Dixon of Eastern Carolina University, 7-5. Then defeated Iryna Varadanian/Alexa Tiefel of Coastal Carolina, 6-4 and Emma Scott of Princeton/Ansley Hardem of Wofford, 6-4 on Saturday.
 
In singles, Compuesto defeated Eastern Carolina's Sofia Anthony, 6-4, 6-0. Dancenco defeated Valentina Urelli of Coastal Carolina in the third set tiebreak, 6-7, 6-3, 10-4. Jorjoliani defeated Charlotte's Immie Cowper, 6-3, 6-2. Storkaas fell to Eastern Carolina's Michelle Ncube in a heart breaker after forcing the third set tiebreak, 6-3, 3-6, 8-10.
 
The Sharks close out the fall season from October 17-22 at ITA Regionals hosted by Army West Point. Regionals will take place at the Malek Tennis Center in West Point, N.Y.