Troy Defeats No. 70 Georgia Southern to Open Conference Play

Friday, March 8

Statesboro, Ga.

9 a.m.

Troy University

Georgia Southern

Troy Defeats No. 70 Georgia Southern to Open Conference Play

3/8/2024 1:48:00 PM | Tennis (W)

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

STATESBORO, Ga. – The Troy women's tennis team opened its conference slate in impressive fashion, as it took down No. 70 Georgia Southern 4-3 on Friday afternoon.

Valeriia Avdeeva clinched the Troy (7-4) victory with an intense three set victory in the third singles spot. It's the first time this season that Georgia Southern has lost a home match.

All four of Troy's points came in singles, as Georgia Southern (11-2) dominated doubles to take a quick 1-0 lead. The Eagles had a 6-0 win in the No. 2 spot before clinching the point in the No. 1 spot with a 6-1 win. The third doubles match went unfinished with the teams tied at 4-4.

In singles, the Eagles increased their lead to 2-0 with a 6-2, 6-2 win on Court 2. The Trojans first point of the match came in the top singles spot, as Kristina Kukaras put together her best singles match of the season with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 win.

The Eagles countered with a 6-4, 7-5 win on Court 5.

Down 3-1, the Trojans needed to win three straight singles matches to pull out the win, and that's exactly what they did.

Gabrielle Leslie continues to impress, as she moved to 11-0 in singles this season with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 win in the No. 6 spot to make it a 3-2 deficit. Troy tied things up at the No. 3 spot as Maria Guirguis had a come-from-behind 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 win.

Tied at 3-3, it all came down to the No. 4 spot. Avdeeva lost her first set 6-7 (5-7), but stormed back with a 6-0, 7-5 win to clinch the Trojan win.

Troy, who won their most conference games since the 2009-10 season (6) last year, open the 2024 SBC schedule in strong fashion.

Up Next
The Trojans continue their SBC slate next week as they head to Huntington, W.Va. to face off against Marshall on Friday before going to Boone, N.C. to take on App State on Sunday. Live stats for both matches can be found at Troystats.com.

Full Results

Troy 4, #70 Georgia Southern 3

Singles Results
1. Kristina Kukaras (TROY) def. Silvia Martinez (GS), 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
2. Ninon Martinache (GS) def. Hagar Ramadan-Amin (TROY), 6-2, 6-2
3. Maria Guirguis (TROY) def. Lindsay Tulenko (GS), 3-6, 7-5, 6-4
4. Valeriia Avdeeva (TROY) def. Nanaka Kijima (GS), 6-7 (5-7), 6-0, 7-5
5. Mackenzie Leopold (GS) def. Leena Metwally (TROY), 6-4, 7-5
6. Gabrielle Leslie (TROY) def. Paula Hijos (GS), 6-3, 4-6, 6-1

Doubles Results
1. Ninon Martinache/Sonja Keranen (GS) def. Maria Guirguis/Kristina Kukaras (TROY), 6-1
2. Silvia Martinez/Lindsay Tulenko (GS) def. Valeriia Avdeeva/Olivia Elliott (TROY), 6-0
3. Mackenzie Leopold/Sophie Wagemaker (GS) vs. Leena Metwally/Hagar Ramadan-Amin (TROY), 4-4

Match Notes
Order of finish
Singles -- 2 1 5 6 3 4
Doubles -- 1 2
Start Time: 10:00 AM
Duration: 3:36
Attendance: 75