The No. 2 Georgia Gwinnett women's tennis team dropped its first match of 2016 as the Grizzlies were defeated by NCAA Division III's No. 2 Emory (Ga.) this afternoon 6-3.

The Grizzlies (1-1) led the match 2-1 after doubles play, but were bested by Emory (4-1) in singles matches, 5-1.

In doubles action, the duos of Valeria Podda & Klara Dohnalova and Alyona Vasileva & Chiara Di Salvo both picked up key victories for the Grizzlies.  Podda and Dohnalova captured the number one doubles victory, defeating Bridget Harding and Katarina Su in a tough-fought 9-8 win.  At the number two spot, Vasileva and Di Salvo defeated Paula Castro and Anna Fuhr 8-4.

Podda was GGC's lone victory in singles play as she defeated Emory's Harding 6-1, 6-2 in the number one singles spot.

"Today was a great college tennis match," stated GGC head coach Chase Hodges. "Credit goes to Emory as they have an outstanding team."

The No. 2 Grizzlies return to action this weekend as they host Middle Georgia (receiving votes), No. 14 Xavier (La.), and Pikeville (Ky.) in the 2016 Green and Gray Invitational.  Saturday's first match against MGSU is set for 9:00 a.m. at the GGC Tennis Facility in Lawrenceville and will be streamed live on the Grizzly Digital Network.

For all the latest on Grizzly Athletics, including news, scores and features, visit GrizzlyAthletics.com. Check out all the latest Grizzly Women's Tennis content and join the conversation by following @GGC_Tennis on Twitter.