The Georgia Gwinnett College women's tennis team posted a decisive 6-1 victory against Emory University (Georgia) in an early-season dual match between Atlanta-area defending collegiate national champions on Friday afternoon at the GGC Tennis Facility.
GGC, the six-time NAIA national champions, including the 2021 title, has now won 43 consecutive dual matches.
Emory is the 2021 NCAA Division III national champions.
Strong doubles play set the tone to give the Grizzlies an early 1-0 advantage. The sophomore tandem of
Iryna Lysykh and
Selina Pichler clinched the point with a 6-2 victory on the No. 3 court. That came after the team of senior
Maria Genovese and sophomore
Stephanie Fernandez were victorious 6-2 atop the doubles lineup.
Pichler's strong play carried over to singles with an impressive 6-2, 6-2 victory on the No. 2 court. Fernandez extended GGC's lead to 3-0 behind 6-2, 6-2 scores at No. 5 singles.
Genovese then secured the victory with the team's fourth point with a convincing 6-3, 6-2 triumph on the No. 1 court. Junior
Tereza Koplova recorded a straight-set 6-4, 6-2 win on the No. 6 court.
Eva Siska, the recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association South Regional singles champion, had a hard fought 7-6 (1), 6-0 victory on the No. 3 court. Siska held her serve to force the first-set tiebreaker, when she won seven of the eight points to win the lengthy opening set. Then, the sophomore cruised to win the next six games to round out GGC's winners in the 2021-22 season debut.
"I don't think there is anything better than dual match competition. It brings the team together to play as a unit. We haven't been able to play many (dual) matches in the fall, when our attention is primarily on individual play (for ITA regional and ITA Cup tournaments). Emory always has a good team and provides a good test for us. Our play in doubles set the tone for this 6-1 win," said Head Coach
Chase Hodges.
Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to host the Grizzly Open from October 8-10 at the GGC Tennis Facility.
