Eagles Open 2010 Season with 5-2 Win Over Florida Atlantic

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Fighting strong winds all day, Georgia Southern officially opened the 2010 dual match season with a 5-2 routing of Florida Atlantic Saturday afternoon (Feb. 6). The Eagles won the doubles point and clinched the match grabbing the first three singles contests off the court. Georgia Southern stands at 1-0 on the year, while FAU dropped to 2-3.

“We played a great match this afternoon against a great team,” said head coach Amy Bonner. “It is nice to open our season with a win and hopefully we can carry the same momentum over to tomorrow's match against Stetson.”

Walking away with wins from the first two doubles matches off the court, GS was able to grab the early 1-0 lead. Pairing up at the No. 3 seed, Melanie Rolle (Gainesville, Fla.) and Allison Beeler (Alpharetta, Ga.) handled Dominique Wimmer and Natalia Totevska, 8-4, to give the Eagles the first doubles match. Senior Kristi Kegerreis (Fairfax, Va.) paired with newcomer Ashley Hungerford (Clearwater, Fla.) to secure the doubles point at the two seed with an 8-5 victory over Erika Mrazkova and Natasha Basma. Battling hard at the top seed, FAU managed to pull out an 8-6 win over Ali Beavers (Kingsport, Tenn.) and Natalie Maffett (Rome, Ga.).

Georgia Southern quickly clinched the match taking the first three singles matches in straight sets. Beavers, starring at the top seed for the first time in her collegiate career, finished first on the courts. The junior dropped only three games en route to a 6-2, 6-1 triumph over Humair for a 2-0 Georgia Southern lead. Rolle, competing at the No. 3 position, notched a 6-3, 6-2 decision over Owl Bergeson before senior Kegerreis clinched the match at the four seed for the Eagles. Kegerreis uprooted Mrazkova in two sets, 6-3, 6-4, to seal the Georgia Southern win.

The Owls got on the scoreboard taking the next two decisions at the No. 5 and 2 seeds. Basma came away with a victory over Jessica Fuller (Cartersville, Ga.) at the No. 5 position, while Totevska edged Maffett in a super tiebreak. Transfer junior Hungerford closed out match play defeating Wimmer in a third set tiebreak. Hungerford dropped two games for a first set win, but fell in a second set tiebreak. The Eagle secured the win with a 10-7 super tiebreak victory.

Georgia Southern returns to the hard courts and closes out this season-opening road trip taking on Stetson, Sunday, Feb. 7 at noon.

Georgia Southern 5, Florida Atlantic 2
Doubles:
1. Justine Humair/Cassie Bergeson (FAU) d. Ali Beavers/Natalie Maffett (GSU) 8-6
2. Kristi Kegerreis/Ashley Hungerford (GSU) d. Erika Mrazkova/Natasha Basma (FAU) 8-5 *
3. Melanie Rolle/Allison Beeler (GSU) d. Dominique Wimmer/Natalia Totevska (FAU) 8-4
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
*Clinched the doubles point

Singles:
1. Ali Beavers (GSU) d. Justine Humair (FAU) 6-2, 6-1
2. Natalia Totevska (FAU) d. Natalie Maffett (GSU) 5-7, 6-4, 10-4
3. Melanie Rolle (GSU) d. Cassie Bergeson (FAU) 6-3, 6-2
4. Kristi Kegerreis (GSU) d. Erika Mrazkova (FAU) 6-3, 6-4 *
5. Natasha Basma (FAU) d. Jessica Fuller (GSU) 7-5, 6-0
6. Ashley Hungerford (GSU) d. Dominique Wimmer (FAU) 6-2, 6-7 (4), 10-7
Order of finish: 1, 3, 4, 5, 2, 6
*Clinched the match

Print Friendly Version