VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State women's tennis team battled, but came up short in a 5-2 loss to No. 27 West Florida in the regular season finale Monday at the VSU Tennis Complex.
The Blazers finished the regular season with a 6-9 record overall and a 5-5 mark in Gulf South Conference play. UWF improved to 12-8 overall and 7-3 in league play.
UWF clinched the doubles point for the early lead as No. 20 duo of Aline Midori Silva and Carlota Verdu won at No. 1, 6-0 over sophomore
Anastasiia Vorobiova and freshman
Jorja Reynolds. At No. 2 doubles, Luiza Daud and Nathalia Mossambani won 6-3 over junior Olivia Perez and freshman
Kayla Greco, while freshman
Evelyn Altmaier and junior
Natalie Kohoutkova won 7-5 at No. 3 over Mayumi Saguchi and Guadalupe Martinez.
The Argos took a 2-0 lead with a win by Martinez at No. 4, 6-0, 6-3, over Vorobiova, but Pezo came back with a 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 2 for a 2-1 deficit. UWF's Jenna Svatos needed three sets to defeat Altmaier, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 at No. 6 for a 3-1 lead and Daud clinched the match for UWF at No. 5, with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 win over Reynolds. Midori Silva, ranked No. 51, downed Greco, 7-5, 7-5, but Kohoutkova came up with a big win at No. 1 singles, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 for the final ledger of 5-2.
The Blazers now will await to see who they will play in the first round of the Gulf South Conference Championship, scheduled for Apr. 20-22 in Montgomery, Ala., at the Lagoon Park & O'Connor Tennis Center.