The NAIA's top-ranked Georgia Gwinnett College women's tennis team record showed no rust from a six-week break in the spring schedule, earning an impressive 7-0 victory at NCAA Division II No. 14 University of West Alabama on Thursday afternoon in Livingston, Alabama.
The Grizzlies (13-0) won three tiebreakers in singles and came out on top in two competitive doubles matches to win their first match since defeating Indiana Wesleyan University in a home match March 11.
The sophomore team of
Iryna Lysykh and
Selina Pichler clinched the doubles point with a 7-5 victory on the No. 2 court. That came after the teams split matches on the No. 1 and No. 3 courts. Sophomores
Ale Ferrer and
Liza Velykorodna won all six games at No. 3 doubles to give GGC an early 1-0 advantage.
The Grizzlies then captured all six singles matches. Senior
Maria Genovese won 12 of the 13 games on the No. 1 court to give the visitors a 2-0 lead. Lysykh registered a 6-3, 6-2 victory at No. 4 singles before Ferrer picked up a 6-2, 6-4 win on the No. 3 court for the team's fourth point.
Third-set tiebreakers decided the remaining three singles matches. Pichler won the opening set by a 6-4 score before securing the victory on the No. 2 court with a 10-7 score in the deciding tiebreaker. Junior
Tereza Koplova earned a 10-3 triumph in the tiebreaker on the No. 5 court and sophomore
Stephanie Fernandez rounded out the winners with a 10-5 victory in the tiebreaker at No. 6 singles.
Georgia Gwinnett College will now prepare to compete in the 2022 NAIA National Championship tournament at Mobile, Alabama, starting May 17.