By Trevor Kuss, sports information assistant
VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Georgia College women's tennis team (1-0) started the season off with a 5-4 win Wednesday afternoon when they took on Valdosta State University (0-1).
The Bobcats had a bit of help as illness put Valdosta at five players and forced them to forfeit a doubles and singles match, giving the Bobcats a 2-0 lead from the start.
Senior Kayla Barksdale (Augusta, Ga.) and Katie Krupp (Evans, Ga.) added to the lead with an 8-4 win in the first doubles position against Michelle Fischer and Alina Nagel.
May Johnson (Sydney, Australia) and Leah Pridgeon (Lawrenceville, Ga.) pushed the Bobcats to a 4-0 advantage with a 9-7 victory over Juliana Boehm and Laura Ubeda.
The Blazers would fight back in singles play. Ivana Marevic (Rottweill, Germany) fell to Fischer 6-1, 6-0 in the first singles spot and in the fourth spot Pridgeon lost to Boehm 6-2, 6-3 to push the score to 4-2.
Barksdale fell to Ubeda in the third spot 6-3, 6-2 and Johnson fell to Nagel 6-2, 6-3 to bring the score even at 4-4.
The freshman Krupp would face off against a junior in Tuggle for the deciding match. Krupp would make quick work in the first set 6-2, but would be pushed to the brink in the second set before coming away with a 7-6 victory after three tiebreakers.
The Bobcats will be back in action Saturday, Feb. 9 when they travel to Savannah, Ga. for a neutral site matchup against No. 12 Saint Leo University.
The Georgia College Department of Athletics, two-time winners of the PBC Commissioner's Cup, sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' multiple appearances in post-season competition as well as documented academic success and community-service involvement. Sign up at www.twitter.com/BobcatSports and www.facebook.com/gcbobcats for up-to-the-minute reports, and visit www.GCBobcats.com for more information, and to nominate your favorite former Bobcats and Colonials to the GC Athletics Hall of Fame.
