The defending NAIA national champion Georgia Gwinnett College women's tennis team opened postseason play with a convincing 4-0 triumph against Holy Cross College (Indiana) on Wednesday in the second round of the NAIA National Championship tournament, taking place at the Mobile Tennis Center in Mobile, Alabama.

The Grizzlies (13-2), the tournament's No. 2 seed, quickly captured the doubles point behind victories on the No. 1 and No. 3 courts. The freshmen pairing of Elizabeth Verizova and MaryLove Edwards collected the first triumph with a 6-0 victory on the No. 3 court. Then, seniors Justine Lespes and Isid Hernandez were victorious by a 6-2 score at the top of the team's doubles lineup.

GGC maintained the positive momentum in singles play as the Grizzlies captured the opening set in five of the six matches.

Junior Alexandra Melnikova extended the lead in the match to 2-0 behind a 6-1, 6-1 win against Jamison Geofferys on the No. 2 court.

Freshman Diana Ilie registered GGC's third point of the match with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Leah Gonzales-Edwards on the No. 4 court.

Verizova then clinched the second-round match victory by winning by identical 6-1 set scores on the No. 6 court.

Wednesday's victory improved GGC to 40-1 record all-time in postseason play. The program has won nine NAIA national titles, including eight straight championships.
 
Coach's Corner
"Great stuff for us in our first match today. We came out and competed hard and directed all the excitement, nerves and energy of the national championships to play excellent throughout the match. Our doubles play is right where we want it going into the next round. I'm really proud of the girls and we look forward to going into the next round tomorrow," said Head Coach Hannah Keeling.
 
Up Next
Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to face No. 7 seed Middle Georgia State University in the quarterfinal round of the 2025 NAIA National Championship tournament on Thursday, May 15, in Mobile, Alabama, starting at 10 a.m.