STATESBORO - Troy women's tennis battled back from a 3-1 deficit to collect a 4-3 win over host and No. 70-ranked Georgia Southern on Friday in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams.
Troy moved to 14-8 overall and 1-0 in the league with the win, while Georgia Southern falls to 11-2 overall and 0-1. The Eagles return to action on Friday, March 15, visiting Louisiana for an 11 a.m. Sun Belt matchup against the Ragin' Cajuns.
The Eagles notched the doubles point against the Trojans with a 6-1 win at No. 1 doubles from Ninon Martinache and Sonja Keranen, as well as a 6-0 win at No. 2 doubles from Silvia Martinez and Lindsay Tulenko.
Georgia Southern then won four of six first sets in singles. A quick 6-2, 6-2 win by Martinache over Hagar Ramadan-Amin at No. 2 singles put the Eagles up 2-0, but the Trojans earned a straight-set win at No. 1 singles. Mackenzie Leopold notched a 6-4, 7-5 win over Lenna Metwally at No. 5 singles that made the score 3-1, but Troy would claim the match with three-set wins on the remaining courts.
"Today was a tough match," Georgia Southern head women's tennis coach Sean McCaffrey said. "Tons of credit goes to Troy for an amazing fight and to come back after having our ladies take four first sets, to go along with dominating in doubles, they raised the level of their games. For us we need to take this match and learn from it. We have earned a very important label as being one of the most relentless and resilient team in our conference. We showed that in some places today, but I believe, at times, we did not do ourselves many favors when it came to closing out sets or matches. The great thing is that this one match does not define us. We played phenomenal doubles which makes me extremely happy but we will definitely learn from today and come back stronger next week."
RESULTS
Singles
1. Kristina Kukaras (TROY) def. Silvia Martinez (GS) 7-6 (4), 6-3
2. Ninon Martinache (GS) def. Hagar Ramadan-Amin (TROY) 6-2, 6-2
3. Maria Guirguis (TROY) def. Lindsay Tulenko (GS) 3-6, 7-5, 6-4
4. Valeriia Avdeeva (TROY) def. Nanaka Kijima (GS) 6-7 (5), 6-0, 7-5
5. Mackenzie Leopold (GS) def. Leena Metwally (TROY) 6-4, 7-5
6. Gabrielle Leslie (TROY) def. Paula Hijos (GS) 6-3, 4-6. 6-1
Doubles
1. Sonja Keranen/Ninon Martinache (GS) def. Maria Guirguis/Kristina Kukaras (TROY) 6-1
2. Silvia Martinez/Lindsay Tulenko (GS) def. Valeriia Avdeeva/Olivia Elliott (TROY) 6-0
3. Mackenzie Leopold/Sophie Wagemaker (GS) and Leena Metwally/Hagar Ramadan-Amin (TROY) 4-4, unfinished
