VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State women's tennis team opens the 2022 home slate with a pair of ranked foes this weekend.  VSU battles No. 18 North Georgia on Friday at 2 p.m. at the VSU Tennis Courts and is scheduled to host No. 4 Nova Southeastern Sunday at 2 p.m.
 
The Blazer women's tennis team is 0-1 on the year after a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to No. 49 Georgia College last week.  VSU battled back from losing the doubles point as freshman and Gulf South Conference Player of the Week Natalie Kohoutkova upset No. 44 Sofia Shing at the top spot in singles to level the match at 1-1, with a convincing 6-1, 6-1 victory.  Kohoutkova also was named GSC Freshman of the Week for her efforts last week.  Teamed with freshman Magda Tuells Bonet, the duo won at No. 1 doubles, 7-6 (7-4).  
 
Blazer freshman Anastasiia Vorobiova won at No. 3 singles in three sets, 6-4, 6-7, 6-4, while freshman Andriana Barrio won at No. 5 singles, 7-6, 6-0.  VSU had chances in each of the other matches, including at No. 4 singles as GC's Emma Fleming edged freshman Elisa Beau, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. 
 
Despite the loss, the new-look Blazer women's tennis team continues to improve as the squad had a good fall season as Tuells Bonet reached the finals of Draw 1 at the GSC Fall Tennis Championships, while she 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.  Beau also reached the finals of her draw, falling 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 season with Barrio, her sister Andrea Barrio, Beau, Kohoutkova, Tuells Bonet and Vorobiova. 
 
North Georgia enters with a 2-0 record after a 5-2 win at Carson-Newman last week and a 4-3 victory over Anderson on Wednesday.  UNG won the doubles point and the teams split the six singles matches.  The Nighthawks were picked tied for third in the Peach Belt Conference Preseason Poll, while Vaishali Jorge and Anna Markvartova were named to the preseason all-conference team.  
 
Jorge, a senior from London, England, won the ITA Southeast Region doubles championship last fall with partner Johanna Lippert and advanced to the quarterfinals of the ITA Cup. She also won the ITA Southeast doubles title in the fall of 2020. A first-team All-Conference selection in singles and doubles in 2021, Jorge has also been named All-Conference in 2019 as well as a PBC Presidential Honor Roll Gold Scholar and a member of the PBC Team of Academic Distinction.

Markvartova, a junior from Hostivice, Czech Republic, was named the 2021 ITA Southeast Region Rookie of the Year after going 10-4 overall in singles play last season with a 5-4 mark at No. 2 singles and 4-0 at No. 3. Markvartova was 5-2 against conference opponents in singles play and was 8-3 in doubles play overall, including a 6-2 mark at No. 2 doubles with partner Annie Adams. She has been named a PBC Presidential Honor Roll Silver Scholar and also received the D2ADA Academic Achievement Award.
 
Nationally speaking, Jorge is No. 37 in the country and fifth in the region, while Markvartova is 17^th in the region and Lippert is 20^th in the region.   For doubles, Jorge/Lippert are seventh nationally and the top team in the region, while Markvartova/Rafaella Villaneuva are tenth in the region.  
 
UNG won the only previous meeting between the two teams in Valdosta on Feb. 7, 2021, 4-2.  In the match, VSU won the doubles point, but UNG won four of the five completed singles matches to clinch the victory.  VSU's lone victory in singles was former Blazer and now graduate assistant Estee' Widdershoven's 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 victory over Jorge at the top spot.  
 
Nova Southeastern enters with a 1-0 mark overall after a 5-0 victory at Embry-Riddle on Feb. 5.  NSU battles St. Thomas (Fla.) on Thursday, before heading to Titletown to face North Georgia on Saturday and VSU on Sunday.  The Sharks were picked second in the Preseason Sunshine State Conference Poll, behind Barry.  
 
NSU returned to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in as many chances in 2021, with its sights set on a third tourney berth following a promising fall in which the program earned a doubles title at the ITA South Regional Championships along with a singles championship at the C.L. Varner Memorial Invitational. The Sharks welcome back reigning SSC Player of the Year Natalie Espinal, in addition to an experienced bunch that includes All-American Karolina Snita and Chantal Nosievici. A pair of impact transfers also have joined the team in Zala Dovnik from Purdue and three-time national champion Julie Razafindranaly from Barry.  
 
Espinal is ninth nationally in singles, while Nika Kozar is 11^th nationally.  Espinal/Nosievici are second nationally in doubles, while Kozar/Dovnik are ninth nationally in doubles.
 
The Sharks lead the all-time series 3-2 over VSU, including winning Feb. 9, 2020 and Feb. 9, 2019, both in Valdosta and by the score of 7-0.  VSU's last win came on Feb. 10, 2017, in a 5-4 victory in Valdosta.  Four of the five matches in the series have been played in Valdosta and one in Pensacola for a neutral site contest, with VSU winning 5-1 on Mar. 29, 2014. 
 
Following the two matches, VSU heads on the road on Feb. 18 at Embry-Riddle at 2 p.m., before hosting Keiser on Feb. 24 at 2 p.m.