The women’s tennis team defeated the No. 31 Tennessee Volunteers 4-3 Friday in the first-round of the NCAA tournament in Chapel Hill, N.C., the first NCAA tournament win by any female sports team at Georgia State.
The Panthers, ranked No. 64, will continue its run in the tournament Saturday at 3 p.m. and will face the winner of VCU versus No. 7 North Carolina.
Junior Chaimaa Roudami clinched the win for the Panthers in the No. 6 singles spot defeating Ambika Pande 6-3, 6-7, 6-4, the only match not decided in straight sets.
The Panthers were on the board first earning the doubles point as all three pairs won in straight sets.
Abigail Tere-Apisah, ranked No. 22 in the country in singles and the conference’s Player of the Year, won her singles match against Eve Repic 6-2, 6-0, and Laura Timmermann defeated the Volunteer’s Laurence Guevremont 6-4, 6-1.
The Panthers improved to 13-8 this season. Friday’s win signified the second time this season the Panthers defeated a top 35 team.
The team won the Sun Belt championship and are led by interim head coach Robin Stephenson, the Sun Belt Coach of the Year.
