The NAIA's No. 2-ranked Georgia Gwinnett College women's tennis team continued its strong play this spring with a 4-1 victory against a ranked NCAA Division II Columbus State University (Georgia) opponent Friday afternoon at the GGC Tennis Facility.
The Grizzlies (15-1) extended their winning streak to 11 matches.
The doubles point was secured with GGC victories in the top two matches. Juniors
Stephanie Fernandez and
Iryna Lysykh teamed to quickly win six of the seven games in the No. 2 match. Then, junior
Justine Lespes and sophomore
Cassidy Mataia clinched the point with a 6-4 triumph on the No. 1 court.
In singles play, senior
Angel Carney extended the host's lead with a 6-2, 6-4 victory in the No. 5 match.
The two teams then traded the next two points with Columbus State (7-4) winning in straight sets at No. 2 singles before Fernandez picked up a 7-5, 7-6 (4) triumph on the No. 6 court.
GGC led in two of the three remaining singles matches in a third set, with the other match just beginning the final frame.
That's when Mataia clinched the dual match victory with a come-from-behind singles win on the No. 4 court. After dropping the first set 7-5, she rallied to capture the final two sets by convincing 6-2 and 6-1 scores. Mataia won the first five games of the deciding third set.
"We're settling into our doubles nicely, which we continue to emphasize in the later stages of the season. Winning 4-1 against a good Division II Columbus State team is certainly encouraging and took a strong performance by everyone. Cassidy (Mataia) stepped up and took control of her match in the second and third sets," said Head Coach
Hannah Keeling.
Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to travel to NCAA Division III Emory University (Georgia) in Atlanta on Friday, April 7, starting at 3 p.m.
