Women's Tennis Gets Into the Swing at GSU Fall Tourney

STATESBORO, Ga. – The Mercer women's tennis team opened its brief fall slate of action Saturday and Sunday at the Georgia Southern University's SpringHill Suites Invitational. Each singles player had three matches in the four-team (GSU, Mercer, South Carolina State and Western Carolina) tournament, as did doubles teams.

Junior returner Jennifer Lada – playing in the "Red Draw" – was the No. 4 seed and drew top-seed Daria Sekerina from South Carolina State in her first round match, falling in three sets of a hard-fought contest. Sekerina blanked Lada 6-0 in the opener before the Bears' No. 1 singles player took the second set, 6-3. The third set went to Sekerina by a slim, 10-8, margin.

Lada defeated Western Carolina's Isabella Glinska, the No. 2 seed, 6-4, 6-3, in her second match, before falling to GSU's Melanie Rolle, 6-2, 6-0.

Freshman Lucie Payrat, also seeded No. 4, upset the No. 1 seed from the "Orange Draw," WCU's Carolina Lainez in an epic three-setter, 7-5, 3-6, 10-8. Payrat then lost to SCSU's Akilah James, 7-6 (4), 6-0, and to GSU's Paola Garrido-Rodriguez (6-0, 6-1).

In the "Gold Draw," freshman Auriele de Montjou was winless in her first collegiate tournament.

Juniors Stephanie Cohen, playing in the tournament's "Navy Draw," and Sarah Hanna, set in the "Pink Draw," each managed to win two of three matches.

Cohen, seeded fourth, lost to top-seeded Laura Bosneag from South Caroilina State in her first round match, 6-0, 6-3, before bouncing back to take a win over Georgia Southern's Mimi Bollaci (6-2, 6-3). In her third and final bout, Cohen topped Western Carolina entrant Layne Arnold by scores of 6-0, 6-1.

Hanna, who was the only Bear to earn a top seed, lost a grueling opening round match to SCSU's Fanni Fricska. Hanna won the first set 6-3, before Fricska came back to win the second, 7-6(7) and the third, 10-5. Hanna then delivered wins in her final two challenges, taking down Courtney Chaney of GSU (6-1, 7-5) and Sydney Brown of WCU (7-6(5), 3-6, 10-3) in another three-set battle.

In doubles, the tandem of Lada and de Montjou notched its lone win of Flight A doubles in three tries in its final match versus GSU's Mimi Bollaci and Taylor Jones (8-1).

In Flight B doubles, Payrat and Cohen picked up a pair of wins by defeating pairs from Western Carolina (8-6) in their opener and South Carolina State (3-6, ret.) in the second round of play.