The NAIA's top-ranked Georgia Gwinnett College women's tennis team picked up an impressive 7-0 victory against No. 10 Montreat College (North Carolina) Friday afternoon on the opening day of the Grizzly Invitational at the GGC Tennis Facility.

The Grizzlies (4-0) took the doubles point behind strong play on the No. 2 and No. 3 courts. The sophomore tandem of Iryna Lysykh and Selina Pichler won all six games at No. 2, while sophomores Ale Ferrer and Liza Velykorodna recorded a 6-3 victory at No. 3 to clinch the doubles point for the 1-0 match advantage.

Senior Maria Genovese teamed with sophomore Stephanie Fernandez for a 7-5 triumph at the top of the doubles lineup.

Genovese also turned in a stellar performance in her No. 1 singles match, defeating NAIA No. 1 Stephanie Petit in straight sets (6-4, 6-4).

GGC's other singles victories came from Pichler, who led her No. 2 match 6-5 in the opening set before the opponent retired; Lysykh, a 6-2, 6-2 winner at No. 3; and Fernandez, who improved to 3-0 on the season in singles with a 6-1, 6-2 victory at No. 6 court.

Also, Ferrer was victorious in straight sets (6-2, 6-2) at No. 4 singles and junior Tereza Koplova rounded out the winners with a hard-fought 6-4, 6-4 victory on the No. 5 court.
  "This was our best performance of the young season. Beating a quality team like Montreat by a 7-0 score is very impressive. I'm proud of the effort we had throughout the lineup. Maria picked up a huge win today and should return as the NAIA's No. 1 player," said Head Coach Chase Hodges.
  Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to host the second weekend of the Grizzly Invitational on February 18-20 at the GGC Tennis Facility.