TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Georgia Southern women's tennis opened up the 2025 Spring season successfully on Friday afternoon by collecting a 6-1 win over Florida A&M at the Althea Gibson Tennis Complex in Tallahassee, Fla.

The Eagles won their season opener for a second straight season and will continue their weekend by visiting No. 25 UCF on Sunday for an 8 a.m. matchup with the Knights at the USTA National Campus' indoor tennis facility.

Georgia Southern swept all three doubles matches to earn the doubles point over the Rattlers. Evelyn Warkentin and Juliette Nask picked up a 6-3 win at No. 1 doubles, while Mackenzie Leopold and Lisen Rinman won 6-1 at No. 2 doubles. Franzi Heinemann and Hannah Eifert completed the doubles sweep with a 6-2 win at No. 3 doubles.

The two teams split the first sets in singles play. Nask completed a 6-2, 6-1 win over Veronica Rodriguez at No. 2 singles for the first singles win, then Amelie Rosadoro collected a 7-5, 6-2 win over Susan Salinas at No. 6 singles. 

Florida A&M won a straight-set victory at No. 1 singles, and all three remaining singles matches went to three sets. Nanaka Kijima clinched the win with a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4) win over Larissa Silva at No. 5 singles. Heinemann followed with a 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 win over Genesis Whitelock at No. 3 singles, then Leopold notched a 6-7 (5), 6-3, 7-6 (3) win over Reagan Harris at No. 4 singles.

"Today was definitely a battle," Georgia Southern head women's tennis coach Sean McCaffrey said. "Firstly, hats off to Florida A&M. Coach Nikki always has really athletic teams, and today her team showed a ton of fight. We were fortunate to have come away with the win. Winning on the road is never easy. Particularly winning on the road after making the five hour drive in the same day. The ladies showed a great deal of resiliency, finding a way to pick up a hard-fought win even when admittedly not playing their best. That's truly a sign of a strong player, being able to still play and fight at a high level when one's game is perhaps not on point. 

"Our doubles was really crisp today from all three teams," Coach McCaffrey said. "Also, Juliette and Amelie did really nice work earning straight set wins to give the team a cushion. What's perhaps a bit more impressive is having Nana, Mac and Franzi all dropping their first sets and being down in the third sets, with some facing match points, and still continuing to fight. We talk a lot about being relentless, and with us being such a young squad, you wonder when the new ladies will have opportunities to work on that. Today they not only worked on it, they rose to the challenge. Being able to come away with all three third sets, while also dropping the first set shows that this team is ready for the fight. We look forward to a little practice tomorrow and a big challenge with UCF on Sunday."

Georgia Southern 6, Florida A&M 1
Results

Singles
1. Sara Rakim (FAMU) def. Evelyn Warkentin (GS) 7-6 (1), 7-5
2. Juliette Nask (GS) def. Veronica Rodriguez (FAMU) 6-2, 6-1
3. Franzi Heinemann (GS) def. Genesis Whitelock (FAMU) 4-6, 6-4, 7-5
4. Mackenzie Leopold (GS) def. Reagan Harris (FAMU) 6-7 (4), 6-3. 7-6 (3)
5. Nanaka Kijima (GS) def. Larissa Silva (FAMU) 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (3)
6. Amelie Rosadoro (GS) def. Susan Salinas (FAMU) 7-5, 6-2

Doubles
1. Juliette Nask/Evelyn Warkentin (GS) def. Sara Rakim/Genesis Whitelock (FAMU) 6-3
2. Mackenzie Leopold/Lisen Rinman (GS) def. Reagan Harris/Veronica Rodriguez (FAMU) 6-1
3. Hannah Eifert/Franzi Heinemann (GS) def. Susan Salinas/Larissa Silva (FAMU) 6-3