By: Benjamin Petree, Sports Information Student.
MACON, Ga. – The Georgia College & State University Women's Tennis team (4-1) lost their first match of the season after a hard-fought 4-3 bout at Division I Mercer University (5-4) Wednesday.
The Bears secured the doubles point over the Bobcats winning at all three slots. On the first line, Emma Fleming (Suwanee) and Chiara Santoro (Santa Ursula, Spain) paired up to face Teodora Ristic and Mary Courville. GCSU lost a tough match 6-4.
Jada Young (Hilton Head Island, South Carolina) and Ashton Morrison (Cumming) teamed up on the second line against Camilla Ciaccia and Eden Schlagenhauf, losing 6-4. On the third line, Sofia Shing (Auckland, New Zealand) and Shradha Chhabra (New Delhi, India) lost a hard-fought match against Kristin Yordanova and Marina de Diego Quinones, 7-5.
The first finish of the singles matches came on the fifth line, where Morrison lost to Quinones 6-1, 6-2. The next finish came on the first line, where Shing suffered her first singles loss of the season against Ristic, 6-1, 6-3. Fleming followed on the third line, putting the Bobcats on the board defeating her opponent Schlagenhauf 6-4, 6-3.
Chhabra brought the team score to 3-2 against Mercer by winning on the sixth line over Lekha Varudandi 7-5, 6-1. Young gave it her all on the second line against Courville, but ultimately lost 7-5, 6-2, clinching the team win for the Bears. Santoro finished the match on the fourth line by beating Ciaccia 6-4, 6-4. The final match score was 4-3 favoring the Mercer Bears.
The next match for the Bobcats is at home against Texas A&M-Kingsville, Feb. 26 at 11 a.m. at the Centennial Center Tennis Facility.
Owning the top Academic Success Rate among public schools in Division II, the Georgia College Department of Athletics sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. GCSU Athletics has won three-straight Presidents' Awards for Academic Excellence, and are two-time winners of both the PBC Commissioner's Cup and the PBC Institution of the Year Sportsmanship Award. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' continued appearances in post-season competition as well as high-level academic success and community-service involvement. Bobcat Athletics embodies the mantra of "Graduating Champions for Life." Sign up at @GCSUBobcats on all social media outlets for up-to-the-minute reports.
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