Stephen F. Austin
Mississippi State
'Jacks Edge Mississippi State
2/19/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Feb. 19, 2012
STARKVILLE, Miss. - The Stephen F. Austin women's tennis team won five of the first six matches played Sunday afternoon to defeat Mississippi State, 4-3, in Starkville. The 'Jacks are now 7-2 (.778) on the season, and have won five straight.
"The Southeastern Conference is one of the toughest conferences in the country and we knew it would be a tough match," said head coach Patrick Sullivan. "We came out a bit flat after the rain delay but fortunately we did what we needed to when it mattered the most.
"I'm extremely proud of Julia (Lorca) who came off our bench and played a great match at No. 6. This is a big win for us, and makes the drive home a lot easier with a win under our belt," added Sullivan.
All three doubles matches were won by 8-5 decisions, with SFA taking victories at Nos. 1 and 3 doubles to secure the point. The lone upset of the doubles competition came at the No. 2 position that saw the 'Jacks' No. 17th ranked, and previously undefeated duo of senior Alina Shazhko and Jithmie Jayawickrema fall to the Bulldogs Alexandra Perper and Olesya Tsigvintseva.
SFA carried that momentum right through the singles competition for the victory. The 'Jacks recorded straight-set wins at Nos. 5, 4 and 6 singles respectively to secure the win. Junior Antonia Kolovou picked up the first singles win with a 6-1, 6-0, decision over Petra Ferancova. Senior Alina Shazhko tacked on a 6-2, 6-2, decision over Mississippi State's Naomi Tran at the No. 4 spot. Freshman Julia Lorca had just a little tougher time going to a tiebreaker in the first set but prevailed over MSU's Roseline Dion, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1.
Although MSU rallied to score the final three points of the match, it was too little too late, as the outcome had already been decided.
The 'Jacks return to action Friday, Mar. 2, when they travel to New Orleans, La., to take on Tulane. The match against the Green Wave is slated to begin at 11 a.m.
-SFA-
