By: Benjamin Petree, Sports Information Student
MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – The Georgia College & State University Women's Tennis team (5-1) returned to home court Friday, facing Texas A&M-Kingsville (1-2) after a series of road matches for the Bobcats. After the Bobcats' first loss of the season at Division I Mercer University, the GCSU Women got back in the win column after defeating the Javelinas 5-1.
Kicking off the match for the Bobcats, the pairing of Sofia Shing (Auckland, New Zealand) and Shradha Chhabra (New Delhi, India) won on the third line over the pair of Sterre Fleur Moerdijk and Milou Ter Morsche 6-2. Chhabra and Shing own a team-best 5-1 doubles mark.
Following this, the duo of Emma Fleming (Suwanee) and Chiara Santoro (Santa Ursula, Spain) clinched the doubles point for the Bobcats defeating their opponents Manuela Turolo and Raina Zaffar 6-4. On the second line, Jada Young (Hilton Head Island, South Carolina) and Ashton Morrison (Cumming) gave it their all but fell to the pair of Alessa Maier and Annika Andersson 6-4.
However, to start off play in the singles matches, Young bounced right back and won over her opponent Moerdijk in a speedy 6-1, 6-2 effort. Fleming followed on the third line winning over Zaffar 6-1, 6-2 to put the Bobcats on the brink of victory over the Javelinas. Securing the team win for the Bobcats on the first line, Shing continued her dominating performance this season, defeating Maier 6-4, 6-2.
Following this, Morrison played through a three-set match against Ter Morsche on the fifth line in which she prevailed to win 6-2, 3-6, 6-0. Santoro followed this performance securing another point for the Bobcats with a 7-6, 6-3 victory over Turolo. Securing the sweep for the Bobcats at singles over Texas A&M-Kingsville, Chhabra closed out the match in a hard-fought three-set match against Andersson on the sixth line, in which Chhabra ultimately won 5-7, 6-1, 10-5. Santoro is now a team-best 6-0 in singles action this season. Fleming is also unblemished with a 5-0 mark.
The next match for the Bobcats is Sunday, Feb. 26, where they face off against the University of Montevallo in Columbus, Ga. The first serve is scheduled for 2 p.m.
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.
