ATLANTA (April 9, 2008) The Georgia State women's tennis team ended its regular season with a 5-2 victory over visiting Troy (8-9) on Wednesday afternoon at Piedmont Tennis Center, improving its record to 11-9. The win was State's sixth consecutive.
"I could not be more proud of the way we played yesterday as a team and especially with the way we finished the match," said head coach Miha Lisac. "Our seniors came through huge today and helped us birng home the doubles point to get on top of Troy. In singles, we played unified - we had six players leaving everything out there on the courts."
State took control of the match at the beginning by taking the doubles point with wins on courts 2 and 3. Dariana Kozmina and Kiara Powell defeated Mirte DeBakker and Leonie Guijt 9-7 while Rachel Malina and Kiera Strickland took down Caroline Jounia and Stephanie Viera 9-7 on court 3.
In singles, Kozmina was quick to put the Panthers up 2-0 with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Rawia El Sisi on court 1. The Trojans jumped on the board after Arres Marine defeated Strickland 6-1, 6-3 on court 6, but Panthers took two straight matches on court 5 and 3 to push the lead to 4-1.
Troy's Vieria added another win from No. 5 singles, coming from behind to defeat Malina 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 to give the Trojans its second point.
With the match already in the Panthers' favor, Nitkova added the final win of the day from No. 2 singles with a 7-5, 6-7(4), 10-8 victory over Bares.
"Everyone deserves a lot of credit, but I want to point out the last three matches - Katka, Martina, and Rachel - and the heart they competed with," said Lisac. "Anyone at the tennis center yesterday could see the determination and the fight in this team - and I couldn't be more proud of the way we played yesterday."
The Panthers honored their three seniors, Rachel Malina, Mateja Podgorsek, and Kiera Strickland, for their dedication to the squad and their success during their tenure.
"Through many challeneges we have become a team that can do some damage no matter who we play against. We are starting to believe that we are capable of something," said Lisac. "I cannot be more proud of the team and what it's accomplished and through the battles we faced this season. You have to understand that we had to work for each and every inch of success we experienced towards the end of the season. Noone can ever take the unity and the pride in what we've done together with this team and I hope we'll all carry it with us for a long time."
State will compete in the CAA tournament scheduled for April 17-20 in Norfolk, Va. Seedings will be announced soon by the CAA.
Check GeorgiaStateSports.com for updates.
Final Match Results
Georgia State 5, Troy 2
Doubles competition
1. El Sisi, Rawia/Bares, Annabelle (TROY) def. Nitkova, Martina/Gresova, Katerina (GAST) 8-6
2. Kozmina, Dariana/Powell, Kiara (GAST) def. De Bakker, Mirte/Guijt, Leonie (TROY) 9-7
3. Malina, Rachel/Strickland, Kiera (GAST) def. Jounia, Caroline/Vieria, Stephanie (TROY) 9-7
Singles competition
1. Kozmina, Dariana (GAST) def. El Sisi, Rawia (TROY) 6-2, 6-1
2. Nitkova, Martina (GAST) def. Bares, Annabelle (TROY) 7-5, 6-7 (4), 10-8
3. Gresova, Katerina (GAST) def. De Bakker, Mirte (TROY) 7-5, 7-5
4. Vieria, Stephanie (TROY) def. Malina, Rachel (GAST) 5-7, 6-2, 6-3
5. Powell, Kiara (GAST) def. Guijt, Leonie (TROY) 6-2, 6-4
