2016 GSC Women's Tennis Tournament, April 14-16
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HERE for the official 2016 GSC Tennis Tournament Homepage.
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HERE for the first set of NCAA Division II South Region Tennis Rankings (as of 4/13/2016).
Birmingham, Ala. - Eight teams ready to compete this week in Montgomery, Ala., for the right to the 2016 GSC Women's Tennis Tournament Championship.
The 2016 GSC Women's Tennis Tournament field plays out as follows: No. 1 West Florida, No. 2 Valdosta State, No. 3 West Alabama, No. 4 Alabama Huntsville, No. 5 North Alabama, No. 6 Shorter, No. 7 Delta State and No. 8 Lee.
The conference tournament will be held in Montgomery, Ala., at the O'Connor Tennis Center at Lagoon Park, on Thursday, April 14 and run through Saturday, April 16, with Sunday, April 17, reserved as a weather makeup day.
No. 1 West Florida
The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) No. 6 team, Argonauts, enter this year’s GSC Tournament having won its last 65-consecutive conference matches. UWF closed out yet another perfect regular season in GSC play with an unblemished 10-0 record and were 19-5 overall. Key wins against ITA-ranked schools include having topped No. 8 Columbus State (5-4), No. 15 Valdosta State (9-0), No. 21 Georgia College (5-1), No. 28 Concordia (5-0) and No. 37 Florida Tech (8-1). Sarai Flores went 13-5 to lead the squad, while Nina Bubelova, Paula Lopez and Dianna Vlad all collected 12 wins each. Kat Dikosavljevic went 11-5 to round out the double-digit winning Argos. In doubles action, Bubelova and Lopez were 17-4. The Argos seek their 16
th all-time GSC Tournament Title.
No. 2 Valdosta State
The Lady Blazers went 11-7, including 8-2 in conference play this season and are No. 15 in the ITA rankings. Sabrina Schmidt paced the squad going 9-3, while J. Jedrychowski and Anke Poncelet both collected seven wins. Schmidt and Laura Ubeda were 11-5 in doubles play. VSU won six of its last seven matches to close the season, all of which were conference opponents. VSU is looking to advance to the GSC Tournament Final for the first time since 2014, while the program has four titles under its belt.
No. 3 West Alabama
The Tigers are in search of their first GSC Tournament Championship in program history. UWA finished the regular season 14-6, including 8-2 in the GSC. UWA is led by Amina Mukhametshina, who went 17-1 overall and 15-4 in doubles play with partners Georgina Morral and Andrea Tomassone. The squad’s opening match will come against Shorter, which the Tigers topped 5-4, during the regular season. UWA has won six of its last 10, heading into the GSC Tournament.
No. 4 Alabama Huntsville
UAH has won two-straight entering the 2016 GSC Women’s Tennis Tournament. The Chargers finished 10-10, including 7-3 in GSC play, to close out the regular season. UAH will take on No. 5 North Alabama in a rivalry match that saw UAH barely edge UNA, 5-4, in the regular season. Cristina Cabanas paced the team with a 15-4 record, while Marta Briega was close behind at 14-5. Rounding out the list of double-digit winners was Marleen Gort, who went 10-9. Naomi Esteve and Gort went 8-3 in doubles action. UAH is in search of its first-ever GSC Tournament Title.
No. 5 North Alabama
The Lions are looking for GSC Tournament Title No. 2 this postseason. UNA is one of three teams in the GSC Tournament field, along with West Florida (15) and Valdosta State (4), to have hoisted the conference tournament trophy. The team was led by Claire DeGeorge (8-5), Claudia Arroyo (8-6) and Donna Haycock (8-7). Doubles action saw Haycock and Olivera Ngouabeu go 7-2. UNA was 8-7 (6-4 GSC) during the regular season.
No. 6 Shorter
The ITA-No. 26 Lady Hawks are looking to climb back to the GSC Tournament Final in consecutive seasons. SU went 10-8 this season, 6-4 in conference play, and took down No. 27 Florida Tech, 6-3 (2/20). Agnes Brun went 15-2, Cassandra Wennestrom was 10-5 and Julie Rinderknech was 9-7. Brun and Ornella Frere combined for a 16-2 record in doubles, while Daniela Chipe and Sicquena Sinclair were 11-3 and Rinderknech and Wennestrom were 9-5. SU will take on No. 3 West Alabama in the opening round.
No. 7 Delta State
The Lady Statesmen were 7-9 in the regular season, including 3-7 in GSC play. DSU is 3-7 in its last 10 matches and enter the GSC Tournament to take on No. 2 Valdosta State. VSU topped DSU in the regular season, 5-1 (4/2). Both Sara Alvarez-Rubio and Celina Stracke were 9-5 this season, while Charlotte Le Flohic was 8-6. Doubles play saw Alvarez-Rubio and partner Stracke go 8-5 to lead the team. The Lady Statesmen seek their first-ever GSC Tournament Championship.
No. 8 Lee
The Lady Flames get their first taste of GSC Tournament action in their first year of NCAA Division II eligibility. Lee went 16-9 overall and 3-7 in GSC play. The Lady Flames turned in a perfect spring break, going 5-0 against competition that included Southwest Minnesota State, USciences (Phila.), Sioux Falls, St. Cloud State and Alderson Broaddus. Francesca Tondi went 17-4 to lead the team, followed by Krista Good (15-6), Marta Garcia-Nieto (14-6), Joanna Grzegrzolka (13-5) and Morgan Friedlander (11-8). Garcia-Nieto and partner Tondi went 10-6, while Friedlander and Grzegrzolka were 11-3 in doubles play. Lee will have its work cut out for it as it will open against defending champion, No. 1 West Florida.
2016 GSC Women's Tennis Tournament [all matches slated for 1:30 pm (CT) starts]
Thursday, April 14
Match 1: No. 8 Lee vs. No. 1 West Florida
Match 2: No. 5 North Alabama vs. No. 4 Alabama Huntsville
Match 3: No. 7 Delta State vs. No. 2 Valdosta State
Match 4: No. 6 Shorter vs. No. 3 West Alabama
Friday, April 15
Match 5: Winner (Match 2) vs. Winner (Match 1)
Match 6: Winner (Match 4) vs. Winner (Match 3)
Saturday, April 16
Match 7: Winner (Match 6) vs. Winner (Match 5)