Seminole Sunday Summary: FSU Soccer Tops Penn State to Reach Elite Eight, Women’s Tennis to Sweet 16

Through two NCAA Tournament matches, the nearly six months off has not seemed to bother Florida State soccer.

The top-seeded Seminoles advanced to the Elite Eight on Wednesday with a 3-1 win over Penn State. FSU outshot the Nittany Lions 32-2, but did face an early deficit.

Penn State scored the first goal in the 20th minute when Frankie Tagliaferri found the back of the net. That lead would last for about 12 minutes before FSU drew even on a Kristina Lynch goal in the 32nd minute.

In the second half, FSU scored a pair of goals in less than an 8-minute stretch. After assisting on Clara Robbins’ go-ahead goal, Gabby Carle scored on a penalty kick to give the Seminoles the breathing room needed. Yujie Zhao assisted on FSU’s first goal in the win.

With the victory, FSU remains perfect and will face Duke in the Elite Eight on Sunday. Eighth-seeded Duke advanced with 1-goal wins over Arizona State and Ole Miss. FSU won 1-0 against the Blue Devils in Tallahassee on Oct. 29 before blanking Duke 4-0 in the ACC Tournament semifinals on Nov. 13.

FSU is bound for the Sweet 16 after home victories over Alabama State and Auburn. (Perrone Ford/PTFPhoto/FSU athletics)

Crowds were limited for the start of the NCAA Tournament, but FSU women’s tennis took advantage of playing on its home court.

The No. 7 nationally-seeded Seminoles advanced to the Sweet 16 with wins on Friday and Saturday. After beating Alabama State 4-0, FSU advanced to the round of 16 with a 4-1 win over Auburn.

FSU didn’t lose a single set in the first match as Victoria Allen, Petra Hule and Andrea Garcia all won in straight sets. This came after the Seminoles took the doubles point.

FSU felt a little more resistance on Saturday against Auburn. After again taking the doubles point, Allen and Nandini Das won in straight sets for the Seminoles.

Auburn’s Carolyn Ansari was able to take the match against FSU’s Emmanuelle Salas, but Hule clinched the victory for FSU with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win over Georgie Axon.

With the two wins, FSU improved to 18-5. The Seminoles will take on No. 10 national seed Texas A&M next Sunday.

Football

Weekly Commitments: Aliou Bah, 3-star T* (No. 516 overall)*
Weekly Decommitments: None
2022 Recruiting Class Ranking*: No. 9 nationally, first in ACC (9 total commitments)*
Big Picture: FSU continued to make noise on the recruiting trail with the addition of tackle Aliou Bah on Friday.

Men’s Basketball

Weekly Commitments: None
2022 Recruiting Class Ranking*: N/A (zero total commitments)*
Big Picture: It was another quiet week for FSU hoops.

Baseball

Record: 25-17 (17-13 ACC)
Ranking: No. 14 Baseball America; No. 18 D1Baseball; No. 17 NCBWA
Past Week: (3-1), beat Troy on Sunday, 4-2; beat Notre Dame on Friday, 5-2; lost to Notre Dame in first game of a doubleheader on Saturday, 5-3; beat Notre Dame in second game of a doubleheader on Saturday, 7-1
Upcoming: vs. Florida Gulf Coast (Tuesday and Wednesday); vs. Clemson (Friday and Saturday)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: FSU picked up a big series win over first-place Notre Dame over the weekend. The Seminoles have just two ACC series left before the conference tournament.

Track and Field

Ranking: Men No. 5 USTFCCCA, No. 2 South; Women No. 11 USTFCCCA, No. 6 South
Past Week: Idle
Upcoming: ACC Outdoor Championships (Thursday through Saturday)
Recognitions: Shanice Love (ACC Women’s Co-Field Performer of the Week); Jo’Vaughn Martin (ACC Men’s Co-Track Performer of the Week); Isaac Grimes (ACC Men’s Field Performer of the Week)
Big Picture: FSU’s men moved into the top 5 this week as the Seminoles prepare for the ACC Outdoor Championships.

Men’s Tennis

Record: 10-16
Ranking: None
Big Picture: With Monday’s NCAA Tournament Selection Show, FSU’s season is officially over.

Women’s Tennis

Record: 18-5
Ranking: No. 7 ITA; No. 7 NCAA Tournament
Past Week: (2-0), beat Alabama State in NCAA Tournament on Friday, 4-0; beat Auburn in NCAA Tournament on Saturday, 4-1
Upcoming: vs. Texas A&M (May 16, NCAA Tournament Sweet 16)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: FSU breezed through its regional and will reach the round of 16.

Men’s Golf

Ranking: No. 2 Golfweek Coaches Poll; No. 2 Golfweek/Sargarin; No. 2 Golfstat; No. 1 Tallahassee Regional
Past Week: Idle
Upcoming: Tallahassee Regional (May 17-19)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: FSU will be the top seed in its regional, which begins a week from Monday.

Softball

Record: 38-9-1 (26-5-1 ACC)
Ranking: No. 6 NCFA Coaches; No. 8 Softball America; No. 7 D1Softball
Past Week: (3-1), beat NC State on Sunday, 4-1; lost at Pittsburgh on Friday, 6-5; swept Pittsburgh in a doubleheader on Saturday by scores of 5-4 and 14-0
Upcoming: at Pittsburgh (Sunday); ACC Tournament (Wednesday)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: Losses in each of the last two weekends likely means that the Seminoles will be the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament. They’ll wrap up the regular season on Sunday.

Women’s Golf

Ranking: No. 9 Golfweek/Sargarin; No. 8 Golfstat; No. 5 WGCA Coaches Poll
Past Week: Idle
Upcoming: NCAA Regional (Monday-Wednesday, Louisville)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: FSU will look to continue an outstanding season as it begins the NCAA Regional on Monday.

Beach Volleyball

Record: 33-6
Ranking: No. 3 AVCA; No. 3 NCAA Championships
Past Week: (1-2), beat Stanford in NCAA Championships on Friday, 3-0; lost to USC in NCAA Championships on Friday, 3-1; lost to LSU in NCAA Championships on Saturday, 3-1
Upcoming: NCAA Championships (Sunday)
Recognitions: Keara Rutz and Torrey Van Winden (AVCA Top Flight); Maddie Anderson and Sara Putt (AVCA Top Flight); Jenna Johnson and Kate Privett (AVCA Top Flight)
Big Picture: After a win to start the NCAA Championships, FSU beach volleyball dropped consecutive duals. The Seminoles will end the season with a record of 33-6.

Soccer

Record: 13-0
Ranking: No. 1 United Coaches Poll; No. 1 seed NCAA Tournament
Past Week: (1-0), beat Penn State on Wednesday in Sweet 16, 3-1
Upcoming: vs. Duke (Sunday, NCAA Tournament Elite Eight)
Recognitions: Jaelin Howell, M (MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist); Malia Berkely, D (MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist)
Big Picture: FSU dominated Penn State on Wednesday and is now just one win from the College Cup.

*247Sports Composite rankings

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson