Women's Tennis | 1/20/2017 11:15:00 AM

STATESBORO, Ga. – This Saturday the Georgia Southern women's tennis team will open their season by hosting SCAD at the Wallis Tennis Center. The Eagles will be at the friendly confines Wallis Tennis Center for the first three matches of the year.
 
"We are really looking forward to playing our first match of the 2017 season on our home courts," said head coach Michele Stanford. "We have had a strong start to our semester, and I have been very impressed with our practices thus far. SCAD will be a competitive first match for us, and I am excited to see how our team will compete against them this year. I have no doubt that our girls are ready to start off the season with a high level of competition in order to help us prepare for the conference play which lies ahead."
 
For the 2017 season the Eagles welcome three newcomers to the team. Arianne de Winter, Nikki Gilner, and Ella Monsey. De Winter is a freshman from Nieuwerkerk a/d Ijssel, Netherlands. She played club tennis for TV Victoria at Vantage Tennis Academy under head coach Raymond Schot. Gilner graduated from Etowah High School in Woodstock, Georgia, where she lettered four times under head coach Billy Morgan. She was awarded All-county athlete from 2012-2016 as well as being named All-region athlete in 2015. Monsey is a junior transfer from Ipswich, Suffolk. She graduated from Ipswich High School being ranked No. 6 in the UK for 18U singles and No. 1 for Suffolk in 12U, 14U, 16U, and 18U. She was also named Suffolk Junior Tennis Player of the Year three times.

LAST TIME OUT
 
During the fall season, the women's tennis team participated in four different tournaments. They began by hosting their annual Georgia Southern Invitational, in which five of six Eagles advanced to the quarterfinals of their respective brackets. The finals were made up of all Georgia Southern players with de Winter defeating Riepe and Ranzahuer defeating Christian. The women's team also had success at Wofford to close out the fall season. Four Eagles competed in finals matches with Ella Monsey winning her draw.

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