WTEN vs. USA // Alexia Alvarez
1
Georgia State GSU
6
Winner Georgia Southern GS
Georgia State GSU
1
Final
6
Georgia Southern GS
Winner
4
Winner South Alabama USA (17-5)
1
Georgia State GSU (2-18)
Winner
South Alabama USA
(17-5)
4
Final
1
Georgia State GSU
(2-18)

Match Recap: Women's Tennis |

Panthers Fall to South Alabama, 4-1, Enter SBC Tournament Seeded No. 12

ATLANTA— Georgia State women's tennis fell to Sun Belt Conference opponent South Alabama in Atlanta on Sunday in the team's final regular season outing of the spring. The Panthers enter postseason play slotted as the No. 12 overall seed at the 2023 Sun Belt Conference Championship, and will open tournament competition facing Appalachian State on Wednesday, April 26.

GSU (2-18) entered Sunday's outing facing South Alabama with momentum, as the Panthers saw victory at the top doubles court with a 6-3 win by Pragnya Kumar and Michelle Ncube. Battling in a tightly contested matchup at the second court, doubles teammates Alexia Alvarez and Maria Paredes played to a narrow 6-4 decision in South Alabama's favor, and GSU would ultimately drop the early point.

2-0 down for the match following the loss in doubles and a default at the No. 6 singles court, the Panthers opened singles play with high energy led by fifth-year senior Eva Chivu. Returning and playing through injury for the team's final regular-season match at home, Chivu notched a 6-3, 6-4 victory in straight sets at the third singles court to earn GSU a point for the match.

Trailing 2-1, losses by the Panthers at the second and fourth singles courts would give South Alabama the deciding points in the match. With the pair of wins by the Jaguars at courts No. 2 and No. 4, GSU saw defeat facing the conference foe, 4-1.

Kumar ended the match at No. 5 singles unfinished with a 6-7, 3-2 count, while Paredes entered a third set at the top court before going unfinished following the clinch by USA.

Sunday's outing marked a quick turnaround for the Panthers having returned from a road battle against in-state conference rival Georgia Southern on Saturday. The match in Statesboro would see GSU fall short in doubles and default at the fifth and sixth singles courts to begin the match 3-0 down entering singles. 

Kumar charted a 7-5, 6-3 win at singles court four to notch a point for the Panthers, however the Eagles would clinch match point with GSU collecting losses at the top three singles courts, and GSU fell short of victory in the conference rivalry matchup, 6-1.

The Panthers wrap the regular season standing at 2-18 overall with a 2-9 mark for SBC play following the pair of losses.

GSU enters the SBC Championship seeded No. 12 overall and will face No. 5-seeded Appalachian State for the first round of tournament competition on Wednesday, April 26 at 11:30 a.m. ET. Matches will be broadcast on ESPN+ with live stats available to fans. 

Follow Georgia State women's tennis on Twitter (@GSUWTennis) and Instagram (@GSUWomensTennis) for continued news and updates throughout the 2023 season. 






 
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