VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State women's tennis team begins the 2022 season Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Georgia College in Milledgeville, Ga.  
 
The Blazers had a strong showing at the Gulf South Conference Fall Tennis Championships, coming away with one singles title and one doubles title, while the Blazers had three singles players reach the finals of their draws.  Freshman Adriana Barrio won Draw 5, 4-6, 6-1 (10-0) over Eva Garcia of Christian Brothers and had wins over Isabella Pinto of Auburn Montgomery in the quarterfinals and Maria Rodriguez of Mississippi College in the semifinals.  
 
Blazer freshman Magda Tuells Bonet reached the finals of Draw 1, falling to Raquel Amaro of Christian Brothers 6-4, 6-0.  Tuells Bonet knocked off No. 2-seed Katia De La Garza of West Alabama in the quarterfinal round and West Florida's Sara Yigin in the semifinals.  
 
In Draw 2, freshman Elisa Beau also reached the finals as she fell to Estefania Garcia of Auburn Montgomery, 6-4, 6-4.  Beau opened with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Luiza Daud of West Florida, followed by a 6-1, 6-1 win over Andrea Medel of Shorter and won 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 over Emma Roberts of Mississippi College in the semifinals.  
 
Returning this season for the Blazers are senior Hera Bjork Brynjarsdottir and sophomores Julia Saving and Rachelle Starreveld.  Bjork, Saving and Starreveld helped lead VSU to a 6-4 record last season in GSC play, marking the ninth-straight season of six or more victories in league play.  Bjork went 5-5 in league play in singles last season, while Starreveld was 7-6 overall in the spring and 7-2 in GSC play.  In doubles, Bjork/Brynjarsdottir went 6-4 overall at the No. 2 spot and 5-2 in league play.
 
Blazer head coach John Hansen welcomes six freshmen this year with Andriana Barrio, Andrea Barrio, Beau, Natalie Khoutkova, Tuells Bonet and Anastasiia Vorobiova.  Following the match at GC, the Blazers return home to host No. 18 North Georgia on Friday, Feb. 11 at 2 p.m., and then No. 4 Nova Southeastern Nov. 13 at 2 p.m. with both matches at the VSU Tennis Courts.
 
GC was picked third in the preseason Peach Belt Conference poll under head coach Steve Barsby.  The Bobcats went 8-7 last season and 5-3 in the PBC.  The match with VSU was postponed due to weather and never made up a season ago. 
 
The Blazers and Bobcats have split the last eight matches dating back to 2013.  VSU won the previous match on Feb. 7, 2020, with a 4-1 victory in Valdosta.  GC won the two matches before that, including one in Milledgeville on Feb. 6, 2019, 7-0.  Starreveld and Saving are the only two current Blazers who competed against GC in the last meeting. 
 
Returning this season for the Bobcats is Jordan Bowie who went 8-7 in singles at the No. 4 position last year, while Emma Fleming was 9-6 in singles at the No. 3 spot. Ashton Morrison was 7-6 at the No. 5 spot.  In doubles, Bowie went 7-7 at the No. 2 spot, while Fleming was 10-5 at the No. 1 position, as was Emily Richter.  Richter was 4-4 in singles in PBC play, playing at both the top two positions.  
 
Check back with vstateblazers.com for a complete recap and stats of the match Tuesday.