ATLANTA--The Georgia State
women's tennis team travels to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to face elite competition at
the Roberta Allison Fall Classic on Friday.
A
total of 10 ranked teams will compete in this year's ITA-sanctioned tournament
beginning at 9 a.m. CDT on Friday morning. Georgia State, ranked No. 69 in the
final rankings of the 2011-12 season, is joined by Alabama (No. 11), Auburn
(73), Clemson (25), Florida State (40), Georgia Tech (20), Michigan (14),
Northwestern (12), Ole Miss (18) and Vanderbilt (28). Other participants
include Kentucky, Middle Tennessee State, Mississippi State, Samford and UAB. The
Panthers enter the tournament following impressive showings in their first two
fall tournaments of the 2012-13 season.
GSU,
led by sixth-year head coach Miha Lisac, hosted two tournaments on back-to-back
weekends last month to kick-off the fall slate. First was the Atlanta Classic
from Sept. 14-16 where stellar underclassmen sophomore Chaimaa Roudami and
freshman Natallia Vavulina paced a dominant weekend from the Panthers. GSU then
hosted three ranked teams for the Southern Shootout where several players
posted undefeated weekends and junior Abigail Tere-Apisah defeated two
nationally-ranked singles foes.
Georgia
State returns to the Roberta Allison Fall Classic for a second consecutive
year. Last year sophomore Masa Grgan paced the Panthers by posting a perfect 3-0
singles record to win her flight. Grgan also teamed with senior Whitney Byrd to
earn two victories against doubles pairs from MTSU and Mississippi.
All
of the student-athletes on GSU's roster will compete, with the exception of
junior Abigail Tere-Apisah. Tere-Apisah is a main draw entrant in the 2012
Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championship in Pacific Palisades, Calif.
Visit
the women's tennis page on GeorgiaStateSports.com for a full recap following
the conclusion of the tournament on Saturday. To receive daily updates, follow
the women's tennis team on Twitter at "@GSUWTennis".
www.GeorgiaStateSports.com
