BOX SCORE

Deland, Fla. –  After beginning the season 3-0, the Eagles drop their first match to the Stetson University Hatters 2-5.  In the team defeat, the Eagles picked up the doubles point, and Anne Kurzweil got a win at No. 3 singles.

"The team came out fired up today and did a great job gaining the momentum after obtaining the crucial doubles point," said Head Coach Michele Stanford.  "We fell in to a slump early on in singles but we were still hanging on until the very end."

Stetson struck first in doubles competition when Alizee Michaud and Ashley Dean defeated Mary Phillips Smith and Anne Kurzweil 7-5 at No. 1 doubles.  With the first match claimed by Stetson, Georgia Southern would need to win the final two doubles matches to secure the doubles point.

Jordana Klein and Giulia Riepe, playing No. 3 doubles, were up to the challenge as they claimed victory over Arijana Korac and Carolina Meregalli 6-4.  The final doubles match, at the No. 2 position, was a battle that went to a tie-breaker.  Francisca Norregaard and Daria Vasekina found themselves on the good end of 7-6 (7-3) decision over Isabella Fernandez and Eveline Lepinay.  

Heading in to singles competition 1-0 over Stetson, the Eagles continued to pressure the Hatters when Kurzweil defeated Korac 6-3, 6-0 at No. 3 singles to put the Eagles up 2-0.  

Dean took down Norregaard at No. 6 singles 6-1, 6-3 to make the match stand at 2-1 in favor of the Eagles.  With the momentum shift, however, the Eagles found themselves overpowered by the Hatter contingent.

At No. 1 singles Klein fell to Michaud 2-6, 2-6 while teammate Riepe lost to Meregalli 4-6, 0-6 at No. 4 singles.

"It came down to two matches, both of which were in the third set," continued Stanford. "At the beginning of our third sets, we took the lead on both courts.  Unfortunately we weren't able to finish it off."  

In the No. 5 position, Vasekina dropped a three set thriller to Lepinay 2-6, 7-5, 5-7, and Smith was defeated by Fernandez at No. 2 singles 2-6, 6-3, 6-7(3-7).

Concluded Stanford, "As with any win or loss, there is always a lesson to be learned.  We are hoping to learn from our experiences today, an dallow them to make us a greater team heading towards conference play this season."

With the victory, the Hatters improve to 3-1 while the Eagles drop to 3-1.

The Eagles will stay in Deland for a neutral site match Saturday against Florida Atlantic University.  The match is set to begin at 10:30 a.m.    

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