Through three days of competition at the Georgia Invitational, the Mississippi State’s women’s tennis squad showed a glimpse of what the rest of the season could hold.The competition, hosted by Georgia, was the first of the new year and an important tune-up for the four invited teams.
Despite not registering a win against their Georgian namesakes, the Lady Bulldogs registered some impressive victories in both the singles and doubles competitions.
Sophomore Martina Banikova and freshman Valeriya Makarycheva recorded the first two victories for Mississippi State in singles action on Friday, both vanquishing their Troy opponents easily after just two sets.
Proving equally capable as a pair, Banikova and Makarycheva also found success together in the doubles competition.
Although they succumbed to a tough 8-5 loss against Georgia’s 42nd-ranked tandem of Dancevic and Hyndman on Friday, the duo responded with an impressive win over a Kansas State pair on Saturday.
A reshuffling of MSU’s other two doubles pairs – who also fell to Georgia opposition Friday – paid dividends as the pairing of Renee Joseph and Daniela Juskova earned a shutout victory against another Wildcat pair on Saturday.
The consolation singles round on Saturday gave the Bulldogs a chance to make amends for earlier losses.
The Bulldogs did not let this chance pass them by.
Tatiana Feit and Elna de Villiers won both their match-ups against Trojan competition, de Villiers in a 6-2, 6-4 decision and Feit with a 6-0, 6-1 near shutout.
Joseph was unlucky enough to follow in their wake, forcing a tiebreaker against her Wildcat opponent before eventually dropping the match 7-5, 7-6 (4).
Georgia again proved to be the tougher breed in the second round singles matchups.
Banikova fell 6-4, 6-1 to 88th-ranked Dancevic, and Makarycheva was left equally frustrated after a 6-1, 6-0 loss.