Troy Wins Sun Belt Quarterfinal Thriller

Friday, April 18

New Orleans, La.

8:00 a.m.

Troy University

Texas State

Photo by: Joshua Thurston

4/18/2014 3:50:00 PM | Tennis (W)

By: Matt Mays

Tournament Central | Women's Bracket

NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Troy women's tennis team came from behind in a thrilling victory, 4-3, over Texas State in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Championships on Friday at the City Park Tennis Center in New Orleans, La.

Troy (15-7), the tournament's fourth seed, was down early after losing a very tight doubles point. The Trojans rebounded to win four of six singles matches over the fifth-seeded Bobcats and will now take on Georgia State, the tournament's top seed, in Saturday's semifinals at 10:00 a.m.

The all-conference doubles pair of Trang Huynh and Anja Cosovic won their 17^th straight match for Troy with an 8-6 win at No. 1 doubles. However, Texas State (9-11) picked up a win by the same score at No. 3 doubles before winning an 8-7 (5) contest at No. 2 to clinch the point.

Lyubov Dorofeeva and all-conference selection Huynh quickly put Troy ahead with easy wins at No. 2 and No. 1 singles, respectively. Dorofeeva won over Monica Pieratt, 6-2, 6-1, before Huynh defeated fellow all-conference selection Jessica Kahts, 6-3, 6-2.

The Bobcats won at No. 6 singles before Margot De Haan put Troy up 3-2 with a 7-5, 6-2 win at No. 5 singles over Shannon Beckett. That win set the stage for the final two matches.

Troy's Hannah Toro was playing in her first singles match of the season as she played at No. 4 for the Trojans. She responded to a first-set loss by winning the second, but ultimately fell, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, to Eva Dench who tied the team score at 3-3 for Texas State.

In a match that lasted over three hours, the two teams played to the very last point in singles play as Cosovic came up with the clinching win for Troy. A second-team all-conference selection, Cosovic had to recover from losing her first set to defeat Laura Gutierrez, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (5), at No. 3 singles.

The Trojans now turn their attention to the tournament's first seed, No. 66 Georgia State, for a Saturday semifinal match. The two sides met in late January in what was GSU's season opener with the Panthers taking a tight, 4-3, victory.

For more information on Troy Athletics, visit TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also find Troy on Twitter and Instagram at @TroyAthletics and on Facebook at Facebook.com/TroyAthletics.

Troy 4, Texas State 3
Apr 18, 2014 at New Orleans, La. (City Park Tennis Center)

Singles competition
1. Trang Huynh (TROY) def. Jessica Kahts (TXST) 6-3, 6-2
2. Lyubov Dorofeeva (TROY) def. Monica Pieratt (TXST) 6-2, 6-1
3. Anja Cosovic (TROY) def. Ana Laura Gutierrez (TXST) 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
4. Eva Dench (TXST) def. Hannah Toro (TROY) 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
5. Margot De Haan (TROY) def. Shannon Beckett (TXST) 7-5, 6-2
6. Katy Collins (TXST) def. Brooke Durden (TROY) 6-4, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. Trang Huynh/Anja Cosovic (TROY) def. Jessica Kahts/Ana Laura Gutierrez (TXST) 8-6
2. Monica Pieratt/Shannon Beckett (TXST) def. Brooke Durden/Monica Gonzalez (TROY) 8-7 (7-5)
3. Eva Dench/Katy Collins (TXST) def. Hannah Toro/Lyubov Dorofeeva (TROY) 8-6

Match Notes
Texas State 9-11
Troy 15-7
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (2,1,6,5,4,3)
#4 Troy vs #5 Texas State
2014 Sun Belt Conference Tennis Championships
Quarterfinals
T-3:01 A-40