The No. 36 Lee University women’s tennis team posted a 5-2 Gulf South Conference (GSC) win over Valdosta State University Wednesday afternoon at the DeVos Tennis Center. The Lady Flames are now 9-3 overall and 4-2 in the Gulf South Conference, while the Lady Blazers dropped to 4-6, 3-2 GSC.
“We’ve never beaten this team and lost several really close matches over the years with them, so to come out today and get the win was really pleasing,” said Lee head coach Patric Hynes.
The Lady Flames won both completed doubles matches to claim the doubles point.
Ashleigh Simes and Matina Ujdur defeated Anastasiia Vorobiova and Julia Saving 6-2 at No. 1 doubles. Micaela Maiz and Maria Duarte beat Kayla Greco and Olivia Pezo by the same score at the second position. The No. 3 doubles match was left unfinished.
Valdosta State opened singles competition with a win at the third spot. Greco needed three sets to beat Ujdur. After Ujdur collected a 6-3 win in the opening set, Greco posted wins of 6-3 and 6-2 in the next two sets.
“Even though she lost, I’m proud of Matina for fighting through some illness today, a lot of other players would not have even made it onto the court,” Hynes said.
Lee regained the Lee following Maiz’s 6-3, 7-5 win over Pezo at No. 2 singles. Simes, ranked No. 39, won the first and third sets to defeat Natalie Kohoutkova. Simes used a 7-5 tiebreaker to win the first set 7-6. Kohoutkova claimed the second set 7-5 and Simes completed the No. 1 singles win with a 6-2 score in the third set.
Elizaveta Gnilozubova clinched the Lee victory with a 6-4, 6-4 straight set defeat of Vorobiova. Duarte pushed the Lee advantage to 5-1 with a 6-4, 6-4 takedown of Jorja Reynolds.
“I’m thrilled for Elizaveta, she was able to hold her emotions and nerves and come through for us. She has come a long way with her game already,” Hynes added.
Evelyn Altmaier closed the final gap with a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 6 singles against Hayden Smith.
The Lady Flames are scheduled to host Delta State University on Saturday in their final regular season home match of the season. The team’s seniors will be recognized in a ceremony at 10 a.m. with the GSC contest scheduled for noon.