Johns Creek, Ga.--The No. 38-ranked Georgia State
women's tennis team dropped a narrow 4-3 decision to No. 67-ranked Tulane at
the Atlanta Athletic Club on Sunday.
The
Panthers (5-6) received wins on Senior Day from seniors Whitney Byrd and Maryna
Kozachenko and junior Abigail Tere-Apisah in singles. Playing in their last
home match, Byrd finished first with a 6-2, 6-2 win at the No. 3 singles spot
while Kozachenko won 6-3, 6-4 at the No. 5 position.
Both
seniors, plus graduate student Jocelyn Ffriend were honored prior to the match
during a senior day ceremony. Byrd's singles win was an important one as it
tied the match at 1-all. Kozachenko knotted the match once again at 3-all with
her win at the No. 5 spot against Tulane's Jacqui Katz. It was her
third-consecutive singles victory and the 25th singles win of her
career.
Georgia
State fell behind early after dropping the doubles point. However, Tere-Apisah
and sophomore Masa Grgan, ranked No. 51 in the ITA National Doubles rankings,
improved to 7-3 overall with an 8-2 win at the No. 1 position. The two defeated
Tulane's Vyskocilova and Birol at the top spot.
Byrd
tied the match by earning the first singles victory on the day. She won an
efficient 6-2, 6-2 match at the No. 2 singles position against Tulane's Emma
Levy. Levy is ranked No. 18 in the Southern Regional Singles rankings to give
Byrd her second victory against a regionally-ranked opponent this season.
Tere-Apisah
won a 6-3, 7-5, match against No. 102-ranked Klara Vyskocilova during singles
play. It was Tere-Apisah's sixth straight singles win and her eighth win this
season against a nationally-ranked singles opponent. She is now 9-2 in
dual-match play this season and is ranked No. 22 in the ITA National Singles
rankings.
Georgia
State jumped into the Top 40 for the second time in program history this week
at No. 38 prior to hosting Tulane (6-5). Sunday was the first time Tulane has
notched a victory against Georgia State in three matches dating back to 2009. The Panthers wore pink jerseys for Sunday's match to raise awareness for breast cancer prevention.
The
Panthers are back in action next week at Winthrop on Saturday (2 p.m.). Visit
the women's tennis page on GeorgiaStateSports.com for a preview of the match
later this week.
www.GeorgiaStateSports.com
