Eagles Lose Nailbiter to Mountaineers
3/16/2012 2:13:00 PM | Women's Tennis
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Women's Tennis team fought hard but lost another close match on Friday afternoon. The Eagles fell to the Appalachian State Mountaineers in a 4-3 nailbiter. The win improves the Mountaineers to 9-4 on the season, 2-1 in SoCon action.
The Eagles (4-9, 1-2 SoCon) gained the upper hand in the match when they captured the doubles point. Natalie Maffett (Rome, Ga.) and Mimi Bollaci (Atlanta, Ga.) came up huge in the clutch when they broke the tie and clinched the point for the Eagles by defeating Jessica Thaggard and Blakeley Bean at No. 3 doubles, 9-7. Today marked the first time this season and second all-time that the Eagle duo has partnered together in a match. Caitlin Kitchen (Kennesaw, Ga.) and Paola Garrido (Vigo, Spain) had previously gotten the Eagles on the board with an 8-2 win at No. 1 doubles over Ellie Linsell and Jennifer Ansari. Doubles play was leveled when Gisela Fernandez and Gabriela Celi prevailed over Scottie French (St. Augustine, Fla.) and Cameron Williams (Norcross, Ga.) at No. 2 doubles, 8-5.
Unfortunately for the Eagles, the momentum gained from the doubles victory didn't carry over into singles play. Garrido did notch a quick victory to put the Eagles up 2-0 by ousting Linsell at No. 1 singles, 6-1, 6-0. However, Ansari defeated Kitchen at No. 2 singles to start the scoring for the Mountaineers. Kim-Lea Dinh leveled the match when she downed Maffett in a tight battle at No. 5 singles, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5. The Mountaineers took the lead when Thaggard won at No. 4 singles over Williams by a score of 6-4, 6-3. Gabby Gabriel sealed the victory for Appalachian State when she came back from a set down to prevail over Alessandra Dzuba (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. Allison Beeler (Alpharetta, Ga.) also managed to come back from a set down to give the Eagles their third point on the afternoon by defeating Celi at No. 3 singles, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 6-3. The win is Beeler's second in as many days.
"We competed hard today," said Head Coach Amy Bonner. "Doubles was a highlight. We had our chances in singles and just didn't execute on the crucial games or points. We are looking to regroup and come back ready for Furman on Sunday."
The Eagles will look to end their current skid when they host Furman on Sunday afternoon. First serve is set for noon at Hanner Tennis Complex.
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