The No. 1-ranked Georgia Gwinnett College women's tennis team capped its strong play in the 2024 Intercollegiate Tennis Association NAIA Indoor National Championships with a dominant 4-1 victory against No. 3 seed Xavier University (Louisiana) Sunday night in Overland Park, Kansas.

CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

The Grizzlies (4-0) took early control of the doubles point behind a pair of senior pairings. Angel Carney and Teodora Jovic teamed to pick up a convincing 6-1 victory on the No. 3 court. Then, Stephanie Fernandez served out the match on the No. 1 court with classmate Iryna Lysykh for a 6-2 triumph.

GGC maintained the fast start in singles by winning the first set on five of the six courts.

Fernandez picked up a 6-4, 6-1 win over Xavier's Valentina Largacha at No. 5 singles. Also winning in straight sets was junior Carol Mora by 6-3, 6-2 scores against Sydney Green on the No. 6 court.
Xavier would get its lone point with a victory by Kyra Akinnibi at No. 3 singles.

However, any chance of a comeback was halted by junior Justine Lespes, the NAIA's top-ranked singles player. She defeated Mbali Langa 6-4, 6-2 on the No. 1 court for the match-clinching point.

GGC won all three matches at this year's championship event, defeating No. 8 seed William Woods University (Missouri) 4-0 and No. 4 seed Tennessee Wesleyan University 4-0 to advance for the final match.

This first ITA NAIA indoor national championship in program history goes along with eight NAIA team outdoor national championships.
 
"The players' energy was excellent all week. Justine (Lespes) played amazing and I'm happy that she got the match-clinching point. The girls played together as a team. I can't describe the high level of motivation that the seniors are playing with this season. They are enjoying the moment. It's a great time to be a Grizzly," said Head Coach Hannah Keeling.
 
Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to host the Grizzly Invitational, starting with a dual match against University of the Cumberlands (Kentucky) on Friday, February 16, at the GGC Tennis Facility, starting at 10 a.m.