MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – The No. 31 Georgia College Women's Tennis team (11-9, 7-5 PBC) dropped its final regular-season matchup of the year Saturday, a 7-2 finish with No. 8 Flagler College (18-3, 10-2 PBC) at the Centennial Center Tennis Facility.
The Bobcats got their lone doubles victory from the third slot, where Kristen Jones (Marietta) and Camilla Negrini (Milan, Italy) controlled Hilary Hanton and Felicitas Runkel, 8-2. Jones and Negrini evened out their record on the year at 9-9.
In first doubles, Jena Kelly (Lawrenceville) and Emma Niemi (Cumming) lost to Patrycja Maslanka and Lizanne Jinkertz 8-1. Mary Jo Nanti and Kelly Burge also took down Hannah Serdinia (Suwanee) and Macy Polk (Powder Springs) in second doubles to create the 2-1 Bobcat deficit.
The Saints took five of the six singles bouts, the lone point coming from Jones in the sixth slot. The Bobcat junior nearly shut out Hanton 6-1, 6-0, improving Jones to 10-7 on the season.
In first singles, Nanti controlled Polk 6-1, 6-2. No. 39 Jinkertz topped Kelly in second singles 6-3, 6-0. Negrini didn't fare much better in the third slot, a 6-2, 6-1 loss to Burge, while Serdinia posted a 6-4, 6-1 defeat to Maslanka on the fourth line. Niemi went the distance with Runkel, nearly providing a third team point, but instead falling short, 7-5, 5-7, 12-10.
The Bobcats fall to 7-5 in Peach Belt Conference (PBC) play, taking the No. 7-seed in the upcoming PBC Tournament. Georgia College will take on No. 2-seed Armstrong State University in the first round Friday, April 21 at 9 a.m. in Florence, South Carolina.
Prior to the contest, the Bobcats honored their two women's tennis seniors, as Polk and Serdinia played in their final home contest.
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.
