Women’s Tennis Triumphs Over Southern Miss

Monday, March 13

Hattiesburg, Miss.

1 p.m.

Troy University

Southern Miss

Women’s Tennis Triumphs Over Southern Miss

3/13/2023 7:18:00 PM | Tennis (W)

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)

By: Troy Athletics Communications

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – In the first Sun Belt meeting between Troy and Southern Miss, Troy came out on top, 4-3, at the USM Tennis Complex on Monday afternoon.

Kristina Kukaras scored match point on court one as Troy (8-3, 1-1 SBC) ends a two-match losing streak to secure the team's first conference victory of 2023.

USM (5-4, 0-2 SBC) held the advantage early with the first two points of the match after taking doubles and Olivia Elliott falling in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3.

Freshmen Maria Guirguis and Valeriia Avdeeva responded for the Trojans, 2-2, as Avdeeva dropped the first set, 6-4, before rattling off a 6-3, 6-2 match win. Then, on court five, Guirguis found herself in a similar situation, having to battle back from a first-set loss, 7-5, to tie the match, 6-3, 6-2.

The momentum continued for Troy on courts two and one through Kukaras and Hagar Amin, respectively. First, Amin suffered a loss in set one, 7-5. The sophomore battled back with a 6-3 win in the second set before giving Troy the lead, 3-2, on a 6-4 win.

Kukaras was the final point, going back and forth with Ebru Zeynep Yazgan in the first. Both sides traded blows to force a tiebreaker where Kukaras pulled through in the end, 7-6 (8-6). The opposition grabbed the second set, 6-3, but the junior secured the victory for Troy on a 6-2 third set.

Singles Results
1. Kukaras, Kristina (TROY) def. Ebru Zeynep Yazgan (USM) 7-6 (8-6), 3-6, 6-2
2. Amin, Hagar (TROY) def. Alyssa Richter (USM) 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
3. Avdeeva, Valeriia (TROY) def. Suhana Das (USM) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
4. Clara Tardivel (USM) def. Elliott, Olivia (TROY) 6-2, 6-3
5. Guirguis, Maria (TROY) def. Zenn Lim (USM) 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
6. Maddison Ricardo (USM) def. Ahrend, Franziska (TROY) 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (7-3)

Order of finish: 4, 3, 5, 2, 1, 6

Doubles Results
1. Ebru Zeynep Yazgan/Alyssa Richter (USM) def. Widing, Andrea/Elliott, Olivia (TROY) 6-2
2. Suhana Das/Clara Tardivel (USM) vs. Amin, Hagar/Kukaras, Kristina (TROY) 5-6, unfinished
3. Zenn Lim/Maddison Ricardo (USM) def. Avdeeva, Valeriia/Guirguis, Maria (TROY) 6-4

Order of finish: 1, 3

Home Until April 14
Troy finishes its road trip 1-1 in conference play as the team returns to the Lunsford Tennis Complex for a six-match homestand, starting with Georgia Southern on Saturday at noon.