WILMINGTON, N.C. - Defending Colonial Athletic Association champion Georgia State rallied past UNCW, 4-3, in a see-saw women's tennis match Saturday at the UNCW courts.
The Panthers improved to 3-10 overall and won their conference debut. The Seahawks lost their second straight and stand 7-5 and 0-2.
UNCW won at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles to capture the doubles point. The No. 2 tandem of Christina Lee and Lindsay Leblang dumped GSU's Katerina Gresova and Tereza Lerova, 8-3, and the No. 3 team of Hartley Collins and Chelsea Kahle dispatched Kir Kemp and Lindsay Hearn, 8-6, to clinch the key point.
After 2009 CAA Player-of-the-Year and 28th-ranked Diana Nakic evened the match with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Kayla Schwenk at No. 1 singles, the Panthers jumped ahead, 2-1, behind a straight victory by Linda Hricistova, 7-5, 6-2, over Kahle at No. 5 singles.
The Seahawks tied the match at 2-2, however, when sophomore Lee ripped Kemp, 6-2, 6-3, at No. 2 singles. But Gresova came from behind for a three-set win over Riley at No. 3 singles to give GSU a 3-2 advantage before Casey Dashiell's 6-2, 6-1 triumph against Hearn at the No. 6 slot knotted the score again.
In the decisive match, Lerova outlasted Leblang, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 7-6 (2), in a three-set marathon to lift the Panthers to the victory.
The Seahawks play the second leg in a three-match homestand tomorrow (Sunday) at 10 a.m. against Miami of Ohio.
