For the second consecutive day the NAIA's top-ranked Georgia Gwinnett College women's tennis team scored a 7-0 home victory over an NCAA Division II opponent.
On Saturday afternoon, the Grizzlies defeated Lander University (South Carolina) at the GGC Tennis Facility. This came after scoring a 7-0 triumph against Belmont Abbey College (North Carolina) at home on Friday.
GGC (2-0) secured the doubles point with convincing victories on all three courts. Senior
Justine Lespes teamed with freshman
Cherysh Henry for a quick 6-1 triumph on the No. 3 court. Senior
Isid Hernandez and
Diana Ilie won the final three games on the No. 1 court for a 6-3 victory. That gave the hosts the match point and a 1-0 lead.
Junior
Alexandra Melnikova and freshman
Elizabet Verizova rounded out the strong doubles play with a 6-2 win on the No. 2 court. The Melnikova-Verizova pairing have won both of its matches by 6-2 scores this spring.
The positive momentum carried over into singles play as all six Grizzlies won their matches in straight sets. Hernandez gave the team a 2-0 advantage with a 6-0, 6-2 triumph on the No. 6 court. Lespes also recorded a quick straight-set victory, by 6-2, 6-0 scores, at No. 2 singles.
Melnikova scored the team's match-clinching fourth point with a convincing 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 3 singles.
Freshman
MaryLove Edwards improved to 2-0 for the young season with a 6-2, 6-1 victory on the No. 4 court. Ilie was victorious by identical 6-2 set scores to claim GGC's sixth point of the afternoon.
Then, Henry won a hard-fought match at the top of the singles lineup by 7-5, 6-4 scores in her second match on the No. 1 court of the spring campaign.
Georgia Gwinnett College now prepares to defend its Intercollegiate Tennis Association NAIA Indoor National Championship, with a quarterfinal round match on Friday, January 31, at Overland Park, Kansas.
Coach's Corner
"These back-to-back matches are what we wanted to properly prepare for next weekend (ITA NAIA Indoor National Championship). I'm proud of the girls and their play. The goal was to keep the energy high and work on things that we can take into upcoming matches. We got better today, as expected, as we played more matches. The players' energy was top tier, and their competitiveness made me a proud coach," said Head Coach
Hannah Keeling.
Up Next
Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to travel to the ITA NAIA Indoor National Championship, taking place January 31 through February 2 at Overland Park, Kansas.
