PENSACOLA, Fla. – The Valdosta State women's tennis team split two matches Sunday in Pensacola, Fla. The Blazers downed West Georgia 6-1 and lost 5-2 to No. 15 Mississippi College. VSU finishes a huge week 3-2 and now are 6-7 overall and 5-3 in GSC play.
With the 6-1 win over West Georgia, the Blazers pulled within a point in the annual Red Clay Rivalry Series versus West Georgia. UWG leads 5.5 to 4.5 with just men's golf remaining this season. If VSU were to defeat UWG in men's golf at the conference tournament later this month earning the tying point, the teams would tie this season and the trophy would stay with VSU since the Blazers won last season in the inaugural year, 7-4.
Click here for the Red Clay Rivalry Series page.
VSU clinched the doubles point taking the early momentum as junior
Natalie Kohoutkova and freshman
Evelyn Altmaier won at No. 3, 6-3, while junior
Olivia Pezo and freshman
Kayla Greco won at No. 2, 6-3. UWG's top tandem of Iulia Dmitrieva and Sophie Mnich won 6-2 over sophomore
Anastasiia Vorobiova and freshman
Jorja Reynolds.
Pezo downed Mnich 6-2, 6-3 at No. 2 singles, while shortly after Greco dominated Karla Menendez at No. 3, 6-0, 6-2 for a 3-0 lead and Vorobiova won 6-2, 6-2, at No. 4 over Patricia Martin-Gomez to clinch the match. Kohoutkova won 6-0, 7-5 over Dmitrieva, while Reynolds downed Lara Wedd, 6-1, 6-4. UWG won at No. 6 as Callie Stanfield defeated Altmaier, 5-7, 6-2 1-0 (10-6) in the super tiebreaker.
With a ton of momentum, the Blazers headed into the match with the No. 15 Choctaws in the afternoon looking for the upset. Things got off to a great start as VSU won the doubles point to take the early lead. Greco/Pezo won at No. 2, 6-2, over Gabrielle Geolier and Emma Roberts and then clinched the point after MC won at No. 3 doubles, with a 6-4 win by Reynolds and Vorobiova at the top spot.
MC tied the match at 1-1 with a win at No. 3 by Fernanda Cota over Greco, 6-2, 6-1, but Kohoutkova put VSU back in front with a win at No. 1 over Alas Ely, 6-3, 6-4. Geolier won 6-4, 6-3 at No. 4 over Vorobiova to tie the match at 2-2. MC then used the momentum for a win at No. 6 as Anna Hudson downed Altmaier 6-4, 7-5 for a 3-2 lead. MC's Anna Valiaeva won 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 at No. 5 over Reynolds to clinch the match and Pezo rallied at No. 2 for a second set win, but came up short in a third set to Roberts, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 5-7.
The Blazers return to the road on Wednesday at Auburn Montgomery for a 4 p.m. ET match, followed by a home match on Saturday, Apr. 8 at 10 a.m. versus West Florida at the VSU Tennis Complex.
