JONESBORO, Ark. - Georgia Southern women's tennis returned to the win column on Saturday, defeating UL Monroe by a 4-0 score in Sun Belt action held on the campus of Arkansas State.

The Eagles moved to 14-4 overall and 5-2 in the Sun Belt with the victory, while ULM fell to 3-16 overall and 1-7 in the league. Georgia Southern will wrap up its weekend on Sunday, taking on Arkansas State in an 11 a.m. match from Jonesboro.

Georgia Southern took the doubles point with a 6-2 win at No. 2 doubles by Sonja Keranen and Ana Tsitavets, and a 6-3 win at No. 3 doubles from Ninon Martinache and Lindsay Tulenko.

The Eagles then took a very quick 2-0 lead in singles as Paula Hijos blanked Tamara Bachmann, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 6 singles. Tsitavets then defeated Oleksandra Balaba, 7-6, 6-4, at No. 2 singles, then Ninon Martinache clinched the victory with a 7-6, 6-3 win over Giovanna Pereira at No. 5 singles. All three of the remaining singles matches were in the third set when the match was clinched.

"We had a very good day today," Georgia Southern Head Women's Tennis Coach Sean McCaffrey said. "ULM has a ton of fight and - even though the score may have been 4-0 and I felt confident in the final matches that were abandoned - they are a team that will always make teams work hard. They give up very few easy points and have an aggressive mindset. We really earned a good result today.

"Doubles was quite strong," Coach McCaffrey said. "Ninon and Lindsay went down early but rallied and really never looked back once they identified a couple of things that needed to be done. Ana and Sonja also did a great job, especially by winning some key deuce points that must have been a bit demoralizing for their opponents. They have become such a strong partnership. Even Liv and Silvia provided a giant amount of support for the team. At one point they were down a couple of breaks and it appeared things were not going their way, but they found some momentum and evened the match up. That was enough to provide a lift for their teammates to secure the point."

"In singles, today was Pauli's day. She simply could not miss. Silvia had a strong day and was close to finishing her match out, along with both Nana and Lindsay in their third sets. All of them had moments where they played some tough points. And a great deal of resiliency in not giving up on points. This was evident when Nana was down a set (6-0) and 3-0 in the 2nd and put up such a strong fight. She simply refused to go away. Ana played particularly well today and was able to come back and earn her 1st set and carried some good momentum into the 2nd set where she earned her win. Ninon did a very good job taking her match against a very steady and clever opponent. She was able utilize her big groundies and imposed her will, especially off her backhand, and her opponent simply did not have many answers for that. Tomorrow we play Arkansas State at their place. They beat us last year and I'm sure our ladies are eager for a rematch. We are looking forward to putting in the fight tomorrow!  GATA!"

Results
Singles
Silvia Martinez (GS) and Alessandra Anghel (ULM) 6-0, 2-6, 5-5, unfinished
Ana Tsitavets (GS) def. Oleksandra Balaba (ULM) 7-6, 6-4
Nanaka Kijima (GS) and Alice Klinteby (ULM) 1-6, 7-5, 5-5, unfinished
Lindsay Tulenko (GS) led Angela Del Campo Suarez (ULM) 6-4, 4-6, 1-0, unfinished
Ninon Martinache (GS) def. Giovanna Pereira (ULM) 7-6, 6-3
Paula Hijos (GS) def. Tamara Bachmann (ULM) 6-0, 6-0

Doubles
Liv Ryan/Silvia Martinez (GS) and Alessandra Anghel/Angela Del Campo Suarez (ULM) 4-4, unfinished
Sonja Keranen/Ana Tsitavets (GS) def. Oleksandra Balaba/Mackenzie King (ULM) 6-2
Lindsay Tulenko/Ninon Martinache (GS) def. Alice Klinteby/Giovanna Pereira (ULM) 6-3