MORROW, Ga. – Clayton State (0-1, 0-0 PBC) could not recover from an early doubles deficit as Middle Georgia State (1-0, 0-0 SSAC) posted an 8-1 victory in an NCAA Division II women's tennis match on Sunday, February 7.
The Lakers were faced with stiff challenges in their first two doubles matches, as sophomore
Alina Ageichik (Minsk, Republic of Belarus) and junior
Carolina Monterrubio (Mexico City, Mexico) dropped an 8-3 decision at No. 3 while junior
Darina Drozdova (St. Petersburg, Russia) and junior
Maria Mendes (Sau Paulo, Brazil) fell by an 8-2 margin at the No. 2 position.
Clayton State would rebound at the top spot in doubles behind the play of senior
Raluca Pavel (Bacau, Romania) and junior
Kristiin Mets (Kuressaare, Estonia). That pairing trailed the entire match before breaking serve for a 7-6 lead. From there, Pavel served out the frame for an 8-6 victory.
Heading into singles trailing 2-1, it would get no better for the Lakers as MGS posted 6-1, 6-1 and 6-2, 6-2 victories at No. 5 and No. 4. The Knights would then lock up the match with a 6-3, 7-5 decision at the top spot. Clayton State would make the final three matches much more difficult.
Mets pushed Lara Persiani at No. 2 before falling 5-7, 7-5, 10-1 and Monterrubio took Shelby Ashley to three sets at No. 6 (3-6, 6-2, 6-4). Drozdova would bring the match to its final margin as she pushed Preeti Gokhale the distance before surrendering a 7-5, 4-6, 13-11 final.
The Lakers return to action on Thursday, February 11 when they head to No. 36 Augusta for their Peach Belt Conference opener. First serve is set for 2 p.m. in Augusta, Ga.
Middle Georgia State 8, Clayton State 1
