The top-ranked NAIA Georgia Gwinnett College women's tennis team returned to its winning ways with a strong 5-2 victory against NCAA Division III national power Emory University (Georgia) on Friday afternoon at the GGC Tennis Facility.

GGC (5-1) used strong play in doubles to grab the matches' first point. Senior Angel Carney and junior Justine Lespes teamed to win all six games on the No. 2 court before the junior duo of Iryna Lysykh and Stephanie Fernandez clinched the point with a 6-3 triumph on the No. 1 court.

The match advantage grew to 3-0 behind a pair of straight-set victories at the end of the singles lineup. Carney picked up a 6-2, 6-0 victory on the No. 5 court before Fernandez won by 6-4 and 6-2 scores on the No. 6 court.

Lysykh also was a straight-set winner at No. 4 singles, sealing the match victory with a 7-1 score in the second-set tiebreaker. Then, Lespes dropped the opening set on the No. 3 court before capturing a pair of tiebreakers for the final point of the match. She won a second-set tiebreaker by a 7-5 score and then the deciding set 10-7.
  "It was a great overall performance against a good Emory team. It was a perfect match for us after playing indoors. The girls came out ready to go and were motivated. It was good to get the doubles point and then we took care of business in singles. We're going to keep building for the rest of the season," said Head Coach Hannah Keeling.
  Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to begin the Grizzly Invitational with a match against Lindsey Wilson College (Kentucky) on Friday, February 17, at the GGC Tennis Facility, starting at 11 a.m.