By Angela Moryan, Sports Information Assistant
MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – No. 19 Georgia College Women's Tennis (2-2, 2-1 PBC) beat the No. 34 University of North Georgia Nighthawks in thrilling fashion Saturday. The day's win came down to a second-set tiebreak in Kristen Jones' (Marietta) sixth line. Jones' endurance won the tiebreaker, set, game and day for the Bobcats.
Georgia College once again started the day off strong, taking doubles 2-1. Macy Polk (Powder Springs) and Hannah Serdinia (Suwanee) snagged the first team point for the Blue and Green in the second line of doubles, 8-5. Jena Kelly (Lawrenceville) and Emma Niemi (Cumming) followed suit shortly after with another doubles win, this time with a little extra tennis, 9-7. Jones paired up with Camilla Negrini (Milan, Italy) and almost took down their doubles foes in line three. The Bobcats forced extra tennis, as well, but ultimately fell 9-7.
The Bobcats lost in the one, two and three spots. Polk kept her match against Kathrin Waidner close, but the Nighthawk came out with the win, 6-4, 6-3. Negrini finished next in the third line. The freshman was unable to overcome Karina Gurgenya, 6-2, 6-1.
Serdinia tied up the day at 3-3 for the Bobcats as she defeated Holly Bennett on the back court, 6-3, 7-5. Meanwhile, North Georgia's Felicia Baratta forced Kelly into a tiebreaking third set. The Nighthawk came back from the 6-4 set one loss to win the match with a pair of 6-3 finishing sets.
Niemi went to a third set as well in the fifth spot. Her opponent, Lexa Loden, won the first set, 6-3, but Niemi fought back to win the match with two straight 6-2 set victories.
Once again, the team win came down to Jones in line six. She topped North Georgia's Emma Etelalahti 6-3 in the first set. The ladies tied the second set at six-all, forcing a seven-point tiebreaker for the set. If the Nighthawk won the tiebreaker, the match would go into a full third set to determine the day's team winner. If Jones secured the tiebreaker, she would win her singles match and the Bobcats would win for the day. Jones came out of a 6-4 hole in the tiebreaker to grab four straight points to win the set, match and game for the Bobcats.
The ladies hope to continue their winning streak as they host Lander University tomorrow, Feb. 26. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m.
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 @GCBobcats on social media for up-to-the-minute reports, and visit GCBobcats.PhotoReflect.com to purchase photo prints from home athletic contests.
