STATESBORO, Ga. (Feb. 10, 2007) ? Junior Kiera Strickland (Roswell, Ga.) clinched the deciding singles point at the No. 5 position to rally Georgia State to a 4-3 dual match victory over Georgia Southern in Saturday afternoon collegiate women's tennis at Georgia Southern.
The Panthers improve to 3-2 on the season in earning their third consecutive victory. The Eagles fall to 2-3 on the year.
Georgia State head coach Lisa Belcher announced at the start of the match that No. 1 singles' player Dariana Kozmina (Ukraine) would be out of the lineup due to injury, forcing some necessary changes in the rotation.
The Panthers' pulled together to claim the doubles point, posting victories at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. The duo of sophomore Martina Nitkova (Czech Republic) and Strickland tallied an 8-5 decision at No. 2 over Kristie Kegerreis and Christine Casorio.
Junior Rachel Malina (Decatur, Ga.) teamed with freshman Emma Stahl-Johansson (Sweden) for an 8-5 win at the No. 1 slot against Molly Maddox and Heather Reynolds to clinch the doubles point for the Panthers. Junior Mateja Podgorsek (Slovenia) and sophomore partner Brittany Smith (Toronto, Canada) fell at No. 3, 8-6, to the duo of Huxtable and Matlosz.
Leading 1-0 heading into singles, the Panthers fell behind early after losses at the No. 6 and No. 2 slots. Podgorsek evened the match with a 6-1, 6-2 triumph at No. 4 over Lauren Wolken.
The Eagles' earned the next singles win at the No. 3 position to stake a 3-2 advantage in the contest. Nitkova responded for State with a 6-4, 6-1 decision over Maddox at No. 1, and Strickland provided the break point she needed for a thrilling 7-6, 6-4 victory against Casorio at No. 5 to clinch the victory for the Panthers.
“I am proud of the team for pulling through today,” expressed head coach Lisa Belcher. “Everyone had to move up in the lineup after we learned that Dariana couldn't go. The team came together and played great tennis to earn this win.”
Georgia State continues its season Sunday against Tennessee Tech at the Bitsy Grant Tennis Center. The match, which begins at 10 a.m., is part of doubleheader with the men's team.
GEORGIA STATE 4
GEORGIA SOUTHERN 3
Feb. 10, 2007, Statesboro, Ga.
Singles (order of finish: 6, 2, 4, 3, 1, 5)
No. 1: Martina Nitkova (STATE) d. Molly Maddox, 6-4, 6-1
No. 2: Kristie Kegerreis (GSU) d. Rachel Malina, 6-2, 6-1
No. 3: Heather Reynolds (GSU) d. Emma Stahl-Johansson, 6-3, 6-0
No. 4: Mateja Podgorsek (STATE) d. Lauren Wolken, 6-1, 6-2
No. 5*: Kiera Strickland (STATE) d. Christine Casorio, 7-6, 6-4
No. 6: Emma Knight (GSU) d. Brittany Smith, 6-2, 6-1
Doubles (order of finish: 2, 1, 3)
No. 1: Malina/Johansson (STATE) d. Maddox/Reynolds, 8-5
No. 2*: Nitkova/Strickland (STATE) d. Kegerreis/Casorio, 8-5
No. 3: Huxtable/Matlosz (GSU) d. Podgorsek/Smith, 8-6
* clinched point/match
