ATLANTA (Mar. 5, 2007) -- Georgia State's women's tennis team traveled to Virginia over the weekend to compete against Colonial Athletic Association opponents Old Dominion and Va. Commonwealth. The Panthers dropped a 6-1 decision to the Lady Monarchs and posted a 7-0 setback at VCU, which is ranked 22nd nationally by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
Despite the losses, head coach Lisa Belcher was pleased with how well her team played against two of the three best teams in the league.
"These matches were great examples for us about the strength of the top CAA tennis teams," expressed Belcher. "We played solid matches against both of these teams, and even though we have taken a couple of tough losses, we have really learned some things about competing at the next level. I know we are making improvements and developing as a team, and we are looking ahead with a lot of optimism."
State's lone win against ODU occurred at No. 2 singles with the return of sophomore Dariana Kozmina (Kharkiv, Ukraine) from injury. She dispatched her opponent, Fernanda Luiz, in straight sets, 7-6, 6-2. Kozmina and her partner junior Rachel Malina (Decatur, Ga.) also teamed up to post a doubles win at the No. 2 position, 8-7, over Larissa Santos and Jana Kubickova.
The Panthers (6-6, 0-2 CAA) continue their season Mar. 6 at Northern Arizona. Game time is still to be determined.
Old Dominion 6, Georgia State 1
Princess Anne Country Club, Virginia Beach, Va., 3/3/07
Doubles:
No. 1 Haarhoff/Luiz (ODU) d. Nitkova/Strickland (GSU) 8-1
No. 2 Kozmina/Malina (GSU) d. Santos/Kubickova (ODU) 8-7
No. 3 Costa/Cohen (ODU) d. Podgorsek/Smith (GSU) 8-2
Singles:
No. 1 Charleen Haarhoff (ODU) d. Martina Nitkova (GSU) 6-4,6-4
No. 2 Dariana Kozmina (GSU) d. Fernanda Luiz (ODU) 7-6,6-2
No. 3 Larissa Santos (ODU) d. Rachel Malina (GSU) 6-3,7-5
No. 4 Jana Kubickova (ODU) d. Emma Stahl-Johansson (GSU) 6-2,7-6
No. 5 Barbara Costa (ODU) d. Mateja Podgorsek (GSU) 4-6,6-1,1-0
No. 6 Daniela Cohen (ODU) d. Kiera Strickland (GSU) 6-1,6-0
No. 22 Va. Commonwealth 7, Georgia State 0
Thalhimer Tennis Center, Richmond, Va., 3/4/07
Doubles:
No. 1 (#13) Yuferova / Borisova (VCU) d. Nitkova/Strickland (GSU) 8-0
No. 2 Petrashevitch / Leonchuk (VCU) d. Kozmina/Malina (GSU) 8-6
No. 3 Konstantinova / Klokotzky (VCU) d. Podgorsek/Smith (GSU) 8-3
Singles:
No. 1 Marianna Yuferova (VCU) d. Martina Nitkova (GSU) 6-2,6-2
No. 2 (#75) Olga Borisova (VCU) d. Rachel Malina (GSU) 6-0,6-2
No. 3 Viktoria Konstantinova (VCU) d. Emma Stahl-Johansson (GSU) 6-0,6-0
No. 4 Maria Klokotsky (VCU) d. Mateja Podgorsek (GSU) 6-1, 6-1
No. 5 Vera Petrashevitch (VCU) d. Kiera Strickland (GSU) 6-1,6-1
No. 6 Olena Leonchuk (VCU) d. Brittany Smith (GSU) 8-2
