Women's Tennis Loses Heartbreaker on Road, 3-4
1/29/2012 11:59:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Conway, S.C. - The Georgia Southern Women's Tennis team fought hard but was unable to defeat reigning Big South champion Coastal Carolina on Sunday. The Eagles won four matches against the Chanticleers and held a match point in a fifth but came up just short, 3-4.
The Eagles took the early lead in the match by securing the doubles point. The Chanticleers won at No. 3 doubles, but this was countered by an 8-6 victory by the team of Alexis Prickett (Charleston, S.C.) and Natalie Maffett (Rome, Ga.) at No. 1 doubles. The sophomore duo of Paola Garrido (Vigo, Spain) and Caitlin Kitchen (Kennesaw, Ga.) then took the point-clinching match at No. 2 doubles by a score of 8-4.
The Chanticleers took the lead in singles play by recording victories at No. 4, No. 6, and No. 3 singles. The Eagles' hopes were kept alive by freshman Cameron Williams (Norcross, Ga.), as she held off Maria Hesketh at No. 5 singles in a 6-1, 7-5 win. Garrido then leveled the match at 3-3 with a 6-1, 6-4 victory at No. 1 singles. Playing the last match on court, freshman Prickett won the first set and held a match point in the third but ultimately fell to Diana Mortlock at No. 2 singles, 6-3, 2-6, 6-7 (6).
"I was really proud of the way the team competed today," said Head Coach Amy Bonner. "We started off strong in doubles play to begin the day. Paola and Cameron won two close matches and Alexis fought hard all day. Close matches like these are good experiences for us and we will learn from it and come out on top next time."
The Eagles return to the courts on Saturday when they begin another two-game road trip by visiting Presbyterian College at 11 a.m. Their first home match of the year is on February 18th at 10 a.m. when they host the Lady Bulldogs of South Carolina State.
Fans can follow their Eagles at GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com or receive short updates at facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics or on Google+ at gplus.to/GSAthletics.
