Women's Tennis Opens Strong at USC Upstate Fall Classic
9/18/2010 3:35:00 AM | Women's Tennis
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Led by three seniors, the Georgia Southern Women's Tennis team opened strong at the USC Upstate Fall Classic Friday (September 17). Senior Ali Beavers (Kingsport, Tenn.) went undefeated in both singles and doubles play, and advanced in singles play alongside classmate Melanie Rolle (Gainesville, Fla.).
“I was really proud of the way we competed today, whether we were winning or losing, we competed hard and never gave up,” said Eagle Head Coach Amy Bonner. “I was proud of the seniors for leading the team in a positive way and showing encouragement and support to the newcomers.”
The day opened with two rounds of doubles competition. In flight 'A', Ashley Hungerford (Clearwater, Fla.) and Allison Beeler (Alpharetta, Ga.) downed Wofford's Sarah Evans and Samantha Sullivan, 8-1, but fell in the second round to Campbell's Lisa Sutton and Borislava Nikolova. The pairing of Rolle and Natalie Maffett (Rome, Ga.) split matches, taking their round-one match over Cara Caruso and Patricia Alves, 8-1, before succumbing in round two against a Kennesaw State pair. Taking two matches on the day, the tandem of Beavers and Paolo Garrido (Vigo, Spain) will face Vera Shkundina and Ayano Tanaka in the semifinal round Saturday.
Three pairs competed in flight 'B' with Caitlin Kitchen (Kennesaw, Ga.) and Taylor Jones (Warner Robins, Ga.) grabbing an 8-6 decision over Iesha Holton and Therese Lagerkvist of Kennesaw State. Kitchen and Jones fell in round two. After falling in the opening round, two Georgia Southern pairs will face each other in the back draw on Saturday. Naomi Bollaci (Atlanta, Ga.) and Alexandra Langmo (Boca Raton, Fla.) will challenge teammates Sydney Brown (Johns Creek, Ga.) and Courtney Chaney (McDonough, Ga.).
“I was encouraged to see the camaraderie displayed in our doubles pairings today,” stated Bonner. “I tried to match up each newcomer with a returner, and that strategy was able to help us. The returners guided the newcomers through strategy and encouragement, and it paid off. It was great to see that we will have some strength in doubles this year.”
One round of singles action took place on Friday. Beavers, Beeler and Rolle were all victorious in straight sets in flight 'A' singles action. Rolle dropped only one game en route to a 6-0, 6-1 defeat of Lauren Trumbell of Anderson College, while Beeler beat Mary Gallegos of Anderson College, 6-2, 6-3. Beavers defeated Julia Paulson of Wofford in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3. Rolle will challenge Kennesaw State's Janaka, while Beavers will face Campbell's Lisa Sutton in round two on Saturday. Garrido, Hungerford and Alessandra Dzuba (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) all moved into the back draw after dropping first-round matches.
In flight 'B', Langmo moved into quarterfinal round action after a win over Lissa Murakami of Augusta State, 6-3, 6-0. Meanwhile, Brown, Jones and Kitchen will all compete in the back draw tomorrow. Wrapping up competition for the Eagles, Chaney suffered a tough loss in flight 'C' singles action, dropping a three-set decision to Dominik Wallaart of Campbell. Bollaci will play Katie Thornton of Wofford on Saturday after receiving a first-round bye.
Day two of the USC Upstate Fall Classic will commence on Saturday at 8 a.m. with two rounds of main draw singles followed by one round of main draw doubles. In addition, two rounds of back draw singles and one round of back draw doubles will be played. Follow the Eagle Women's Tennis team on www.GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com, twitter/GSAthletics and at facebook.com/GSAthletics.
“I was really proud of the way we competed today, whether we were winning or losing, we competed hard and never gave up,” said Eagle Head Coach Amy Bonner. “I was proud of the seniors for leading the team in a positive way and showing encouragement and support to the newcomers.”
The day opened with two rounds of doubles competition. In flight 'A', Ashley Hungerford (Clearwater, Fla.) and Allison Beeler (Alpharetta, Ga.) downed Wofford's Sarah Evans and Samantha Sullivan, 8-1, but fell in the second round to Campbell's Lisa Sutton and Borislava Nikolova. The pairing of Rolle and Natalie Maffett (Rome, Ga.) split matches, taking their round-one match over Cara Caruso and Patricia Alves, 8-1, before succumbing in round two against a Kennesaw State pair. Taking two matches on the day, the tandem of Beavers and Paolo Garrido (Vigo, Spain) will face Vera Shkundina and Ayano Tanaka in the semifinal round Saturday.
Three pairs competed in flight 'B' with Caitlin Kitchen (Kennesaw, Ga.) and Taylor Jones (Warner Robins, Ga.) grabbing an 8-6 decision over Iesha Holton and Therese Lagerkvist of Kennesaw State. Kitchen and Jones fell in round two. After falling in the opening round, two Georgia Southern pairs will face each other in the back draw on Saturday. Naomi Bollaci (Atlanta, Ga.) and Alexandra Langmo (Boca Raton, Fla.) will challenge teammates Sydney Brown (Johns Creek, Ga.) and Courtney Chaney (McDonough, Ga.).
“I was encouraged to see the camaraderie displayed in our doubles pairings today,” stated Bonner. “I tried to match up each newcomer with a returner, and that strategy was able to help us. The returners guided the newcomers through strategy and encouragement, and it paid off. It was great to see that we will have some strength in doubles this year.”
One round of singles action took place on Friday. Beavers, Beeler and Rolle were all victorious in straight sets in flight 'A' singles action. Rolle dropped only one game en route to a 6-0, 6-1 defeat of Lauren Trumbell of Anderson College, while Beeler beat Mary Gallegos of Anderson College, 6-2, 6-3. Beavers defeated Julia Paulson of Wofford in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3. Rolle will challenge Kennesaw State's Janaka, while Beavers will face Campbell's Lisa Sutton in round two on Saturday. Garrido, Hungerford and Alessandra Dzuba (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) all moved into the back draw after dropping first-round matches.
In flight 'B', Langmo moved into quarterfinal round action after a win over Lissa Murakami of Augusta State, 6-3, 6-0. Meanwhile, Brown, Jones and Kitchen will all compete in the back draw tomorrow. Wrapping up competition for the Eagles, Chaney suffered a tough loss in flight 'C' singles action, dropping a three-set decision to Dominik Wallaart of Campbell. Bollaci will play Katie Thornton of Wofford on Saturday after receiving a first-round bye.
Day two of the USC Upstate Fall Classic will commence on Saturday at 8 a.m. with two rounds of main draw singles followed by one round of main draw doubles. In addition, two rounds of back draw singles and one round of back draw doubles will be played. Follow the Eagle Women's Tennis team on www.GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com, twitter/GSAthletics and at facebook.com/GSAthletics.
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