TUSCALOOSA, ALA. (Jan. 31, 2009) The Georgia State women's tennis team improves to 2-0 on the season after sweeping Tulane, 4-0, Saturday during match one of its two-match road swing in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
"We squared off versus Tulane today and had a good outcome,” said head coach Miha Lisac. “We had a slightly slow start in doubles, but picked up our play, finished well and carried on the energy into singles. Because of the problems with injuries and our match tomorrow against Alabama we stopped the match when the winner emerged. I have to give credit to our top 3 players as they stepped up to the plate and finished off matches against tough players and saved their energy and their teammates' energy for tomorrow's match.”
State and Tulane (4-3) battled on neutral territory at Univ. of Alabama's recreation center. The Panthers opened the day with a sweep in doubles. Kiara Powell and Dariana Kozmina cruised to an 8-1 win over Caroline Gerber and Jessica Lange, but Tulane forced a battle at the No. 1 and No. 3 spots. Georgia State doubles tandem, Diana Nakic and Martina Ondrackova rallied to an 8-6 win over Marcela Fonseca and Sharon Siegel at No. 3 and Martina Nitkova and Linda Hricistova took an 8-5 win over Mariam Kurdadze and Lindsay Dvorak to clinch the doubles point.
“Now, after improving the doubles play, it is crucial for the team to be able to draw its confidence from winning the doubles points,” stated team captain, Martina Nitkova. “It helps our poise to be able to transfer the positive energy from doubles into singles and it uplifts all the players going into singles a point ahead.”
The match was called after the Panthers won three straight singles matches to earn a four-point lead. No. 24 (South Region) Diana Nakic defeated Mariam Kurdadze 6-1, 6-1 at No. 1, Martina Nitkova earned a 6-4, 6-3 win over Lindsay Dvorak at No. 2 and Dariana Kozmina defeated Marcela Fonseca 6-3, 6-2 at No. 3 to clinch the Panthers' victory.
“In the past few matches we've seen a great improvement in doubles game. The team has shown that emphasis on doubles play at last practices proved to be a right strategy to get the psychological lead against our opponents,” said assistant coach, Sasa Pirc. “I feel that this year we have a solid team with great energy and I believe this will be enough to match up with other teams in the country.”
Georgia State faces Alabama on Sunday at Noon (CST) at the Hank Crisp Indoor Tennis Facility.
“We have a tough challenge ahead of us in Alabama tomorrow. They are a hard-hitting team and it will be a good way for us to gauge against them and see where we stand as a team,” said Lisac. “I am looking for the team to continue the aggressive play in singles and to get ready for a fast start in doubles play. We are continuously focusing on our play and the details we have to take care of to continue our winning ways against tough competition ahead of us."
DOUBLES
No. 1 - Nitkova/Hricistova (GSU) def. Kurdadze/Dvorak (TU) - 8-5
No. 2 - Powell/Kozmina (GSU) def. Gerber/Lange (TU) - 8-1
No. 3 - Nakic/Ondrackova (GSU) def. Fonseca/Siegel (TU) - 8-6
SINGLES
No. 1 - Diana Nakic (GSU) def. Mariam Kurdadze (TU) - 6-1, 6-1
No. 2 - Martina Nitkova (GUS) def. Lindsay Dvorak (TU) - 6-4, 6-3
No. 3 - Dariana Kozmina (GSU) def. Marcela Fonseca (TU) - 6-3, 6-2
No. 4 - Caroline Gerber (TU) vs. Linda Hricistova (GSU) - unfinished with Gerber leading 6-3, 3-2
No. 5 - Jessica Lange (TU) vs. Katerina Gresova (GSU) - not played
No. 6 - Sharon Siegel (TU) vs. Kiara Powell (GSU) - not played
