VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 37 Valdosta State women's tennis team fought hard, but came up just short in a 4-2 loss to No. 16 Tampa on Saturday morning at the VSU Tennis Complex.
 
The Spartans (13-3) won the first two doubles matches to win the team point as top Blazer duo of No. 29-ranked freshman Denisa Hanakova and junior Viktoriia Fedorova fell to No. 33-ranked Julie Ball and Victoria Sanchez in a battle of ranked foes.
 
Heading to singles, Ball, ranked No. 46, downed freshman Natalie Rainke 6-0, 6-1, for a 2-0 lead, but Hanakova responded nicely with a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 2 over Sanchez, pulling VSU within 2-1.  UT's Savannah Williams won 6-3, 6-4 over freshman Aneta Poborilova at No. 3 for a 3-1 lead, but the Blazers kept chipping away as junior Olivia Pezo won 6-3, 7-5 at No. 5 singles over Annie Wilberg for a 3-2 deficit. 
 
At No. 4, junior Kayla Greco battled back from a 6-2 loss in the first set for a 7-6 victory in the second, but Kristina Miletic won 6-0 in the decisive third set for a 4-2 team victory.  At No. 6, sophomore Evelyn Altmaier and Rebecca Presley each split the first two sets when the match was clinched.
 
The Blazers continue at home on Sunday at 1 p.m. versus Hawaii Pacific at the VSU Tennis Complex.