STATESBORO - South Carolina State notched four singles wins to come away with a 4-3 college women's tennis victory over No. 65-ranked Georgia Southern on Friday at the Wallis Tennis Center.

Georgia Southern took the doubles point from the Lady Bulldogs with an 6-4 win at No. 1 doubles, then a 7-6 (6) win at No. 2 doubles.

The Eagles dropped four of six first sets in singles action. Georgia Southern took a 2-0 lead thanks to Leopold's 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 4 singles, but South Carolina State tied things up with straight-set singles wins from Hind Semlali (SCSU) def. Juliette Nask (GS) 6-2, 6-2 at No. 2 and Nalanda Silva (SCSU) def. Amelie Rosadoro (GS) 6-3, 6-2 No. 3 singles.

A win at No. 6 singles over Valeria Teran made it 3-2, but the SCSU took the victory with a straight-set win from Teodora Vujicic (SCSU) def. Nanaka Kijima (GS) 6-1, 7-6 (6) at No. 5 singles and a three-set win by the 2024 MEAC Player of the Year Sofya Cursina (SCSU) def. Evelyn Warkentin (GS) 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 at No. 1 singles.

"We were finally able to put a good week of practice in and that really helped today," said head coach Hardeep Judge."We lost a very close doubles point today, however losing that point gave us some confidence that we could match Georgia Southern's squad."

South Carolina State 4, No. 65 Georgia Southern 3
Results
Singles
1. Sofya Cursina (SCSU) def. Evelyn Warkentin (GS) 7-5, 4-6, 6-1
2. Hind Semlali (SCSU) def. Juliette Nask (GS) 6-2, 6-2
3. Nalanda Silva (SCSU) def. Amelie Rosadoro (GS) 6-3, 6-2
4. Mackenzie Leopold (GS) def. Ashikha Amalnathan (SCSU) 6-3, 6-1
5. Teodora Vujicic (SCSU) def. Nanaka Kijima (GS) 6-1, 7-6 (6)
6. Hannah Eifert (GS) def. Valeria Teran (SCSU) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles
1. Juliette Nask/Evelyn Warkentin (GS) def. Sofya Cursina/Hind Semlali (SCSU) 6-4
2. Mackenzie Leopold/Lisen Rinman (GS) def. Nalanda Silva/Teodora Vujicic (SCSU) 7-6 (6)
3. Ashikha Amalnathan/Valeria Teran (SCSU) def. Hannah Eifert/Franzi Heinemann (GS) 7-6

ABOUT SC STATE ATHLETICS
South Carolina State University is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level intercollegiate athletic program. The university currently fields teams in 14 sports: women's volleyball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's indoor track & field, softball, men's and women's outdoor track and field, women's soccer and football with all teams competing in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), except for women's soccer.
 
FOLLOW SOUTH CAROLINA STATE ATHLETICS IN CYBERSPACE 
There are many ways to keep up with SCSU athletics online and on the go:
• Visit www.scsuathletics.com, the official web site of Bulldog athletics, for news, schedules, stats, bios and more. 
• Follow us on social media:
 Facebook: /SCStateAthletics
 Twitter: @SCStateAthletic
 Instagram: /SCStateAthletics