By: Benjamin Petree, Sports Information Student
VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Georgia College & State University Women's Tennis team (2-0) won their first road contest of the season at Valdosta State University (0-1) Tuesday, 5-2.
The Emma Fleming (Suwanee) and Chiara Santoro (Santa Ursula, Spain) pairing continued their excellent play together this season defeating Natalie Kohoutkova and Shaye Longwell in first doubles 6-2. On the second line, Jada Young (Hilton Head Island, South Carolina) and Ashton Morrison (Cumming) paired up and notched their first doubles win together this season, beating Anastasiia Vorobiova and Olivia Pezo 6-2.
Peach Belt Conference (PBC) Player of the Week Sofia Shing (Auckland, New Zealand) and Shradha Chhabra (New Delhi, India) paired on the third line to secure the Bobcats sweep at doubles, beating Julia Saving and Kayla Greco 6-3.
In first singles, Shing continued her impressive play so far this season defeating Kohoutkova 6-1, 6-1 to build on the Bobcats' lead. At second singles, Young lost a tough match against Pezo 6-1, 6-2. The Bobcats came right back on the third line with Fleming facing off against Vorobiova in a hard-fought matchup requiring three sets in which Fleming prevailed 2-6, 6-4, and 7-5.
At fourth singles, Santoro secured the win for the Bobcats against Valdosta State continuing her strong season play defeating Longwell 6-2, 6-1. On the fifth line, Chhabra faced off against Greco and played a strong match, but unfortunately lost 6-3, 6-3. In the final singles match of the day for the GCSU Women, Morrison padded on to the Bobcats 5-2 victory by beating Jorja Reynolds 7-5, 6-3.
The Bobcats will play their next match on the road this Saturday, Feb. 11, at Erskine College with first serve set for 1 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.
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