The tennis program at Georgia State recently had one for the record books. The Intercollegiate Tennis Association ranked the pairing of junior Abigail Tere-Apisah and sophomore Masa Grgan No. 19 in the nation.
It is the highest tennis ranking in school history.
“It feels amazing,” said Grgan. “I’m really proud that we achieved this kind of ranking.”
Her doubles teammate concurred with Grgan’s sentiments.
“It’s pretty awesome,” Tere-Apisah said. “After how we did last semester, I was hoping that we would probably get a ranking. But for us to be ranked this high…is great. And to make history for Georgia State, it’s huge.”
Even with the success the duo has amassed as of late, there was shock that the ITA had ranked them so high.
“We did beat some ranked teams, but if I had to guess the ranking, I wouldn’t have guessed that we would be this high,” Grgan said.
Tere-Apisah shared the view of her doubles teammate.
“I was shocked,” said Tere-Apisah.
Such a ranking will happen when a record of 11 wins and three losses is compiled.
This past fall the pairing had three wins and no losses at the Southern Shootout and reached the finals of the ITA Southeast Regional Championships, before falling to the University of Georgia’s Kate Fuller and Laura Herring.
“I was very excited before those finals because if we won that match, we were going to qualify for the nationals and were going to be in New York City at the USTA National Tennis Center,” Grgan said. “I can say that both me and Abby didn’t have our best day, but the Georgia team is also very good.”
Grgan and Tere-Apisah may not have had their best day in the match against UGA, but one of the things that make them so effective on the court is their contrasting on-court personalities.
Especially when things begin to go south during a match.
“Abby’s a little bit more laid back on the court and Masa’s a little bit more intense on the court,” assistant coach Robin Stephenson said. “So, when you bring those two together, it makes for a really good combination, especially when they do run into adverse situations on the court.”
According to head coach Miha Lisac, successful doubles teams hinge upon on how the two players coexist together, regardless of how they may perform in singles matchups.
“It’s not about how one player plays and how the other player plays, it’s how the two players play together,” Lisac said. “It’s more in terms of how their personalities fit together and how Abby and Masa work together.”
Grgan and Tere-Apisah work well together on the court and boast a strong friendship and chemistry off the court as well.
“You know, it’s really like, closeness off the court as well,” Tere-Apisah said. “We get along really well.”
The most recent match for Grgan and Tere-Apisah, as of press time, was an eight to one victory over Maddie Kobelt and Sophia Dzulynsky of Syracuse.
“The whole season is ahead of us, and hopefully, if we manage, we’ll keep our ranking,” Grgan said. “There’s also nationals and NCAAs, so we are hoping and working on achieving that.”
Working together, anything seems possible for this duo.
