Women's Tennis | 1/26/2016 5:26:00 PM

STATESBORO, Ga. - It was a nail bitter at the Georgia Southern Wallis Tennis Center Tuesday as both teams' first match of the spring was determined by two tight matches that went into third sets. However, the Lady Eagles came out victorious, beating South Carolina State 5-2 at home. Junior Giulia Riepe snatched the W for the Blue and White at the No.1 position, fighting back to beat Intissar Rassif 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.  
 
"We played a tough match against South Carolina State today, and I am so proud of the fight in our team," head coach Michele Stanford said. "They put the pressure on us, and we had a difficult time shaking off the first match nerves."
 
Moving into singles with a point deficit, the pressure was on the Eagles to get early leads in their matches. Three players won in straight sets, with Lindsay Truscott first putting Georgia Southern on the board with her 6-1, 6-2 victory on court three. Emilia Bujan and Mariana Ranzahuer followed her lead to bring the score to 3-1.
 
"Lindsay Truscott ignited the fire today, getting Georgia Southern's first point on the score board," Stanford said.
 
Ultimately it came down to the No.1's and No.6's who both entered their third sets. Although Riepe started off losing the first set, she kept up her momentum in the back-to-back battle and broke serve to go and win it for the team.
 
"We fought hard today, and although will still have some work to do, I believe this was a great start to our 2016 journey," Stanford said.
 
Georgia Southern 5, South Carolina State 2
Singles competition
1. Giulia Riepe (GSU) def. Intissar Rassif (SCSU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
2. Mariana Ranzahuer (GSU) def. Oleksandra Fillippova (SCSU) 6-4, 6-2
3. Lindsay Truscott (GSU) def. Andjela Vasic (SCSU) 6-1, 6-2
4. Marketa Marcanikova (SCSU) def. Francisca Norregaard (GSU) 6-3, 6-2
5. Emilia Bujan (GSU) def. Dakota Brown (SCSU) 6-2, 6-4
6. Mary Phillips Smith (GSU) def. Carla Petreanu (SCSU) 6-1, 5-7, 6-3
 
Doubles competition
1. Rassif/Brown (SCSU) def. Francisca Norregaard/Lindsay Truscott (GSU) 6-1
2. Marcanikova/Roca (SCSU) def. Mary Phillips Smith/Mariana Ranzahuer (GSU) 6-0
3. Giulia Riepe/Emilia Bujan (GSU) def. Fillippova/Petreanu (SCSU) 6-0 

QUOTABLES FROM MICHELE STANFORD
"Line 3 doubles had a great start to the match, but unfortunately, we had a hard time getting the momentum to go our way in the top two lines. In singles, junior Giulia Riepe came back with a beautifully played third set win to clinch the match. South Carolina State's team was grinding through every match, and it was clear that this wasn't going to be an easy win. Our team had to be very smart, and their resilience pushed us through to obtain the 5-2 win."
 
UP NEXT
The Eagles stay close to home, competing again this Saturday in Savannah. The first serve against SCAD is scheduled for 2 p.m.

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