STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Women's Tennis Team defeated Florida A&M 6-1 Saturday (March 19th) afternoon at Hanner Tennis Complex en route to its fourth-straight win. The four-and-a-half hour competition against the Rattlers pushed the Eagles to an 8-5 mark on the season and a 2-0 record this week.

The Eagles started strong with wins in all three doubles matches. Senior Melanie Rolle (Gainesville, Fla.) and sophomore Natalie Maffet (Rome, Ga.) bested Rattler duo Alexis Brown and Kathline Durden, 8-4, at the number-three seed. Freshmen Paola Garrido (Vigo, Spain) and Caitlin Kitchen (Kennesaw, Ga.) grabbed their third-straight doubles victory as well as the deciding win over Florida A&M's Britney Dean and Deke Olagbegi, 8-5, at number-one doubles. Seniors Ali Beavers (Kingsport, Tenn.) and Ashley Hungerford (Clearwater, Fla.) finished doubles play with a 9-8 (7-1) win at the number-two slot.

Hungerford, playing at the number-five spot, led the charge for Georgia Southern as she dropped FAMU's Bethany Holt in straight sets for the first singles point for the Eagles. Maffett followed in similar fashion at the number-four seed with straight set wins of 6-4, 6-1, over Maria Gomez.

Number-six seed Alexandra Langmo (Boca Raton, Fla.) won her second-straight match and clinched the team match win 6-2, 7-6 (4) over Shani Williams. Langmo came back from a 5-6 deficit in the second set and evened the score at 6-6 before taking the 7-6 victory.

Three-set wins at No. 3 and No. 2 singles added drama to the match as Rolle rolled to a 6-4 win in the first set over Durden before falling 4-6 in the second set. She rebounded in the third set 6-1 for the win at number-three singles. To complete the scoring for the Eagles, Beavers won in three sets at number-two singles for her 10th win of 2011. Florida A&M's Brown won the first set 6-3 before Beavers answered with two 6-2 set scores for the victory.

Georgia Southern continues its six-match homestand on Monday, March 21st, when it welcomes Elon for a 2 p.m. Southern Conference match at Hanner Tennis Complex. The first 50 fans in attendance receive a free slice of Domino's pizza.

Fans can follow Eagle Women's Tennis at GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/wtennis and receive short updates at facebook.com/GSAthletics or twitter.com/GSAthletics. Scores of matches are posted at twitter.com/GSScores.

Georgia Southern 6, Florida A&M 1
March 19, 2011 at Statesboro, Ga. (Hanner Tennis Complex)

Singles competition

1. Alexis Brown (FAMU) def. Paola Garrido (GSU) 6-1, 6-0
2. Ali Beavers (GSU) def. Kathline Durden (FAMU) 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
3. Melanie Rolle (GSU) def. Deke Olagbegi (FAMU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
4. Natalie Maffett (GSU) def. Maria Gomez (FAMU) 6-4, 6-1
5. Ashley Hungerford (GSU) def. Bethany Holt (FAMU) 6-0, 6-3
6. Alexandra Langmo (GSU) def. Shani Williams (FAMU) 6-2, 7-6 (10-4)

Order of finish: 1,5,4,6,3,2

Doubles competition

1. Paola Garrido/Caitlin Kitchen (GSU) def. Britney Dean/Deke Olagbegi (FAMU) 8-5
2. Ali Beavers/Ashley Hungerford (GSU) def. Maria Gomez/Bethany Holt (FAMU) 9-8 (7-1)
3. Melanie Rolle/Natalie Maffett (GSU) def. Alexis Brown/Kathline Durden (FAMU) 8-4

Order of finish: 3,1,2