ATLANTA (Jan 26, 2008) The Georgia State women's tennis team opened its dual match season with two straight losses on the road this weekend against Furman and No. 60 Virginia Tech.

"I like the fact that we have started the season against two tough teams. We have a lot of work to do and this weekend was a huge wake up call for us as a team,” said head coach Miha Lisac. “Even though there are some positives that we've shown against Furman and Virginia Tech, we have a long way to go to be able to compete and give ourselves a chance to win against this level of competition. “

The Panthers traveled to Greenville S.C. on Friday to take on Furman at 5 p.m. at Minor Herndon Mickel Tennis Center. In doubles, Dariana Kozmina and Rachel Malina fell 9-8 (5) in a tough battle at No. 1 to Gioia and Manojlovic. At No. 2, transfer Kiara Powell and freshman Katerina Gresova dropped an 8-6 match to Osborne and Swindell. Furman swept the doubles matches with a victory over Martina Nitkova and Kiera Strickland at No. 3. Furman swept the Panthers again in singles competition to close out the 7-0 victory.

Georgia State stayed in Greenville S.C. to take on No. 60 Virginia Tech on Saturday. The Hokies swept State in doubles to earn the doubles point. The Panthers earned their first point of the weekend when Nitkova cruised past Yasmin Hamza 6-1, 6-2 at No. 1. However, the Hokies won five straight, including a tough battle against Dariana Kozmina who fell 7-6 (3), 6-1 at No. 2 to defeat the Panthers 6-1.

“We don't plan on hanging our heads, but rather come back on Monday and start working through the issues that we experienced this weekend. We have shown potential, but now we have a lot of mental work to do to realize some of that potential,” said Lisac. “Each individual, including the coaches, has to figure out a way to step it up a level and respond to the challenges that we have in front of us as a team."

The Panthers will host a triple-header with the men's team on Friday, Feb 1, hosting Tennessee Tech at 11 a.m. and Samford at 3 p.m.

GSU v. Furman 0-7

Doubles:

1. Gioia/Manojlovic (Furman) def Kozmina/Malina 9-8 (5)
2. Osborne/Swindall (Furman) def Powell/Gresova 8-6
3. Arguello/Tomory (Furman) def Nitkova/Strickland 8-6

Singles:

1. Laura Gioia def Martina Nitkova 6-4, 6-3
2. Monica Arguello def Dariana Kozmina 6-3, 6-2
3. Lauren Osborne def Kiara Powell 7-5, 6-4
4. Jessica Preeg def Rachel Malina 6-4, 6-3
5. Lauren Tomory def Katka Gresova 6-4, 6-2
6. Natasa Manojlovic def Kiera Strickland 6-3, 6-2



GSU v. Va Tech 1-6

Doubles:

1. Brouwer/Hamza (Va Tech) def Kozmina/Malina 8-5
2. Johnson/Long (Va Tech) def Powell/Gresova 8-2
3. James/Walker (Va tech) def Nitkova/Strickland 8-5

Singles:

1. Martina Nitkova def Yasmin Hamza 6-1, 6-2
2. Inga Beerman def Dariana Kozmina 7-6 (3), 6-1
3. Jessica Long def Kiara Powell 6-1, 6-4
4. Jessica Brouwer def Rachel Malina 6-1, 6-2
5. Holly Johnson def Katka Gresova 6-0, 6-4
6. JJ Larson def Kiera Strickland 6-4, 6-1