Senior Tereza Lerova won the singles event and paired with sophomore Maryna Kozachenko to advance to the finals of the doubles event to lead the Georgia State women's tennis team Sept. 10-12 at the Thomasville Invitational.

Lerova went 4-0 as the top-seeded singles player, knocking off Elyisa Ortiz of Florida A&M (6-1, 6-3), Jacqueline March of the University of West Florida (7-5, 6-1), her teammate Kozachenko (6-2, 7-6(3)) and Luiza Sonnervig, also of UWF, (4-6, 6-3, 10-7). Lerova also won two doubles matches to finish unbeaten.

Kozachenko finsihed 2-1 by beating Valdosta State's Jessica Tuggle (6-0, 6-0) and South Alabama's Ramona Ghermani (7-5, 4-6, 10-5) before falling to Lerova in the semifinals.

It marks the second consecutive season the senior from Ostrava-Batovice, Czech Republic, won the singles event at the tournament. She went 4-0 and won in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0 against Sonnervig last season to claim the title.

Lerova and Kozachenko teamed to defeat South Alabama's Ghermani and Angela Martin 8-1 in the quarterfinal round and UWF's Naomi Higa and Barbara Oliveira 8-3 in the semifinals.

The Panthers next host the Southern Shootout at Rockdale Tennis Center in Conyers, Ga. from Sept. 23-25. Check www.GeorgiaStateSports.com for a preview of the weekend tournament with results and a full recap to follow its conclusion.

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