FIU loses sophomore guard, leading scorer Denver Jones to Auburn
Sophomore guard Denver Jones announced via social media that he intends to transfer to Auburn University.
Before choosing the Tigers, Jones indicated that his top six schools were Auburn, LSU, Alabama, DePaul, Florida State and Oklahoma.
The Panthers lose their do-it-all guard who led the team with 20.1 points per game and 33.4 minutes per game. Those marks are best for second and fifth in Conference USA.
What’s a significant loss for FIU is a major win for the Tigers, who receive a guard who can score and has no problem setting up his teammates.
Jones isn’t solely an offensive player either. His 1.8 steals per game will bolster a stout defensive team that was fifth in the SEC in steals last season with eight per game.
Auburn recently lost junior guard Wendell Green Jr. to the NBA Draft and needed a player to pair with five-star freshman guard Aden Holloway, making the acquisition of Jones a perfect fit for the Tigers’ backcourt.
Tennis
The 38th-ranked women’s tennis ended the regular season with a resounding win against host FAU, 6-1, on Friday.
The Panthers finish 15-4 overall, 3-1 in Conference USA and 9-0 at home. Under head coach Katarina Petrovic, FIU has won 15 or more games in a season for the fifth time.
Junior Salma Loudili and freshman Katerina Mandelikova got the day started for FIU with a 6-2 doubles victory against Katerina Filip and Amber McGinnis.
FAU countered as Carla Galmiche and Martina Kudelova beat Kamila Umarova and Ekaterina Khairutdinova 6-3.
With the doubles point on the line, Yasmine Kabbaj and Oyinlomo Quadre delivered a clutch 6-3 victory over FAU’s Victoria O’Hayon and Millie-Mae Matthews.
The Owls then found themselves on the receiving end of sweep in singles, losing three in a row.
Kabbaj outplayed Kudelova at No. 1 singles, dropping her 6-2, 6-3. The win is Kabbaj’s fourth in the past five matches.
Mandelikova followed up with another demoralizing blow for FAU, winning her matchup to give FIU a 3-0 advantage. Umarova then decided the match with a resounding 6-1, 6-1 win over McGinnis at No. 4 singles.
The rest of the match saw Quadre beat O’Hayon for her 10th victory in a row, Loudili come out on top against Galmiche and Khairutdinova fall to Filip in a super tiebreaker, 6-3, 2-6, 10-8.
FIU now awaits its seeding for the Conference USA Championships, which will take place April 20-23 in Denton, Texas.
Baseball
Stetson defeated visiting FIU 6-4 on April 4.
FIU held a 1-0 lead until the third inning, where Alec Sanchez would make an impact.
At the top of the third inning, freshman Roylan Quevedo hit a double that Rosario followed up with a single to get Quevedo to third.
After two hitters were struck out, Sanchez stepped up to the plate once again and hammered a triple, allowing Quevedo and Rosario to score 3-0.
Stetson cut the lead to 3-2 in the third inning.
Neither team scored until the bottom of the fourth inning, where Lorenzo Meola and Andrew Estrella continued their great play.
After Meola hit a single and Estrella walked, Cameron Hill’s hit scored Meola and Estrella.
Jake Bullard’s run-scoring single scored Christian Pregent to increase Stetson’s lead to 5-3.
Sanchez cut the deficit to 5-4 in the eighth inning with a home run down the right-field line, but that was the Panthers’ last score of the game.
Brian Olmo is the Sports Director for PantherNOW, the home of FIU’s student media. William Duval is the assistant sports director. Richelieu Vlaery is a staff writer.
Follow Brian Olmo, William Duval and Richelieu Valery on Twitter at @Brian_Olmo11, @WillDuval40 and @RichelieuWrites
