Women's Tennis Travels to South Carolina for Two Matches
2/4/2011 4:05:00 PM | Women's Tennis
b The Georgia Southern Women's Tennis team (0-0) opens their 2011 season with a pair of matches in the state of South Carolina. The Eagles will face South Carolina State (1-1) Saturday at 1 p.m. and USC Upstate (0-1) Sunday at 11 a.m.
"We have been working hard since we got back to school in January and are gearing up for match play," said Head Women's Tennis Coach Amy Bonner. "We have been playing a lot of matches in practice to get ready for the spring season. We are looking forward to these first matches. We are ready to get out there and compete again."
Georgia Southern returns seven of the nine Eagles who played in match play last season and adds four freshman to a squad that went 11-9 last season. GSU graduated Jessica Fuller and Kristi Kegerreis who combined for 20 wins in singles play. Kegerreis also posted a 13-7 record in doubles competition last season.
The Eagles return senior Melanie Rolle (Gainesville, Fla.) who finished last season with an 11-7 record and went 6-4 in number-two singles. Senior Ashley Hungerford (Clearwater, Fla.) also won 11 matches a season ago and went 10-7 in doubles competition. Georgia Southern also returns fellow senior Ali Beavers (Kingsport, Tenn.) who finished last season with a 6-4 record.
"My seniors played well this fall. I am hoping that they will bring a lot of leadership to the team. I am looking for them to lead the way and show by example," said Bonner.
Bonner is looking for a breakout sophomore season from Natalie Maffett (Rome, Ga.). Maffett won her flight of the Kennesaw State Invitational in the fall finale. The Rome, Ga. native played 10 of her matches last season in either the number-one or number-two singles but picked up her three wins in number-three singles competition.
"We had a good fall. We had some people really step up and play well. Maffett won her flight at the Kennesaw Tournament in the fall and we are looking for her to carry over that momentum to the spring," said Bonner.
South Carolina State is coming off a 4-2 win over Elon but dropped the first match of the season at number 15 South Carolina 5-2. The Lady Bulldogs won both the number-one and two singles. Daria Sekerina defeated Anya Morgina 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 in the number-one singles, while Akilah James won the number-two singles in straight sets.
"We are going to face some tough non-conference competition here in February before opening conference play," said Bonner.
