ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The No. 14 Georgia College & State University Women's Tennis team (20-5) wrapped up a stellar 2023 season in a 4-2 loss at No. 5 Flagler College (20-4) Tuesday in the finals of NCAA Southeast Regional No. 1.
The No. 4-seed Bobcats beat No. 5-seed Wingate University Monday to play No. 1-seed and host Flagler today.
The Saints got the doubles point with wins in the first and third lines. First doubles wrapped up first, bringing a 6-2 loss for Emma Fleming (Suwanee) and Chiara Santoro (Santa Ursula, Spain) to Dana Heimen and Luisa Hrda, the No. 18 doubles pairing in the country.
Third doubles saw Sofia Shing (Auckland, New Zealand) and Shradha Chhabra (New Delhi, India) team for a 6-3 loss to Florencia Massardo Brain and Nadja Meier.
The Saints went up 2-0 with a win in sixth singles. Chhabra couldn't get past Charlotta Buss in a 6-3, 6-2 bout. In second singles, Jada Young (Hilton Head Island, South Carolina) lost to No. 9 Meier in a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 battle.
Next came fifth singles, the first point for the Bobcats as Ashton Morrison (Cumming) topped Laura Jipescu 6-3, 7-6[3]. The Bobcats kept it rolling as Shing had a massive upset on the top line, upending No. 4 Hrda in come-from-behind fashion 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
The rally would halt there, however as Fleming gave No. 67 Heimen everything she could handle in a 6-7[3], 6-0, 6-4 loss to close the bout.
The loss caps the season at 20-5, the fourth 20-win season in program history.
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.
