#6 Tennis Falls to #2 Georgia Gwinnett

April 15, 2016

In showdown of top NAIA tennis programs, the #6 Brenau tennis team fell to #3 Georgia Gwinnett College 8-1 on Senior Day in Gainesville on Thursday.

Georgia Gwinnett came out strong by sweeping doubles play, then won matches at #6 singles and #4 singles to clinch the match.

#2 singles player Rebecca Pijls had the lone Golden Tiger victory as the freshman made a strong comeback after dropping her first set to win 4-6, 6-4, 10-4 over Sophie Feller.

At #1 singles, the NAIA's fifth ranked player, Fatyha Berjane, pushed the number one player in the nation, Valeria Podda, but came up short, 7-5, 5-7, 10-5.

The Golden Tigers also celebrated the careers of seniors Kelley Cohron and Fatyha Berjane in front of friends,family and former Brenau tennis players.

"Our regular season is officially over and I am looking forward to both the SSAC conference tournament next weekend and the NAIA Nationals next month," said head coach Andre Ferreira. "It is time to get the group together, come up with a plan, and start preparing for the most exciting part of the season."

Brenau (14-5, 8-1 SSAC) next heads to the Southern States Athletic Conference Championships in Mobile, Alabama on April 22nd and 23rd.

Final results:

Brenau 1, Georgia Gwinnett 8

Doubles:

1. Podda/Feller (GGC) def. Berjane/Recalde (BU) 8-1

2. Di Salvo/Vasilyeva (GGC) def. Mammetgulyyeva/Pijls (BU) 8-2

3. Dohnalova/Pinones (GGC) def. Cohron/Dickins (BU) 8-0

Singles:

1. Valeria Podda (GGC) def. Fatyha Berjane (BU) 7-5, 5-7, 10-5

2. Rebecca Pijls (BU) def. Sophie Feller (GGC) 4-6, 6-4, 10-4

3. Klara Dohnalova (GGC) def. Maya Mammetgulyyeva (BU) 6-4, 7-5

4. Chiara Di Salvo (GGC) def. Patricia Recalde (BU) 6-1, 6-0

5. Alyona Vasilyeva (GGC) def. Kirsten Dickins (BU) 6-3, 6-0

6. Helga Pinones (GGC) def. Kelley Cohron (BU) 6-0, 6-0

Order of finish: (3, 2, 1) Singles (6, 4*, 5, 3, 2, 1)