ATLANTA--The No. 70-ranked Georgia State women's
tennis team opens its 2013 spring season with a challenging match against No.
72 Syracuse at the Blackburn Tennis Center on Saturday.
The
match was previously scheduled to take place at 10 a.m. at the Ken Byers Tennis
Complex at Georgia Tech, but was rescheduled for 1 p.m. at the Blackburn Tennis
Center on Saturday.
Georgia
State, led by sixth-year head coach Miha Lisac, enters the season ranked (#70) in the ITA National Team rankings for the
second-consecutive season. It is also the first season in school history the
team enters the year with a nationally-ranked singles player and doubles pair
while being ranked as a team as well.
The
Panthers will be led this season by their No. 1 singles player Abigail
Tere-Apisah. She enters the year ranked No. 29 in singles after earning
All-American status last season. The junior from Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
is coming off a successful fall against elite competition. She earned victories
at the prestigious Riviera/ITA All-American Tournament, ITA Southeast Regional
and the USTA/ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships. In total,
Tere-Apisah earned five victories against nationally-ranked opponents in the
fall.
Senior
Whitney Byrd and sophomore Masa Grgan will anchor the rest of the top half of
the Panthers' singles lineup. Both are experienced winners that notched
double-digit singles victories last season. Newcomers Linn Timmermann and
Jocelyn Ffriend are expected to join sophomore Chaimaa Roudami to provide
important depth to the singles lineup.
GSU
leads its doubles lineup with the No. 19-ranked tandem of Tere-Apisah and
Grgan. The two advanced to the finals at the ITA Southeast Regional, defeating
two nationally-ranked duos in the process. Senior Maryna Kozachenko will step
in as an important doubles player as the Panthers look to find consistency in
their No. 2 and No. 3 pairings.
Syracuse
enters Saturday's match ranked No. 72 in the ITA National Team rankings. The
Orange (0-2) have battled a tough schedule to start the season with a 6-1 loss at
No. 43 USF in the season opener and a narrow 4-3 loss at No. 20 Georgia Tech on
Thursday. Leading the Orange is junior Maddie Kobelt at the top of the singles
lineup. The meeting will be the first for Georgia State and Syracuse in a dual-match
setting.
Live
stats of Saturday's match will be available at the start of the match. Fans can
also follow the Georgia State women's tennis team on Twitter at "@GSUWTennis"
to receive live updates from the match. Check the women's tennis page on
GeorgiaStateSports.com following the match for a full recap.
www.GeorgiaStateSports.com
