February 7, 2013

Women's Tennis Heads to NC State

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG women's tennis program heads to Raleigh, N.C., to compete against NC State in it's second match of the season on Thursday, Feb. 7 at 4 p.m. in the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center.

"In every match we play this spring, we see opportunities," said head coach Jeff Trivette. "Playing NC State on Thursday is just another chance to see where we are in our development. We would love to go to Raleigh and take one from the Wolfpack, but ultimately we are focused on another Southern Conference championship. That is our ultimate goal for the spring season."

The Spartans enter Thursday's match after falling 7-0 to North Carolina last week.

Senior Niltooli Wilkins (Burnsville, Minn. / Homeschooled) had a 4-2 lead in the first set against No. 11 Gina Suarez-Malaguti. Suarez-Malaguti tied the set at 4-4 before Wilkins regained the lead at 5-4. Suarez-Malaguti won the next three games to take the first set 7-5, before winning the second set, 6-0.

Classmate, Annette Rios (Santa Ana, El Salvador / Liceo Latinoamericano) held a lead in the first set at 4-3 but Lyons, ranked No. 101 would come back to take the set 6-4. Rios fought to take the second set, 7-6(8-6), but fell 12-10 in a third-set tiebreaker.

NC State holds a 1-0 record this season after defeating East Carolina, 7-0, Jan. 31 at home. The Wolfpack is led by junior and 2012 All-ACC selection Joelle KIssell, who is ranked No. 33 in the nation in the ITA. Kissell defeated three ranked opponents during the fall season, including 2012 All-American and 23rd-ranked Abigail Tere-Apisah, of Georgia State, USF's 29th-ranked Katie Vasenina, and Texas A&M's 17th-ranked Cristina Stancu.

Entering the dual match, NC State has a 14-0 lead over UNCG in the all-time series. The teams last met in 2006, where the UNCG fell to NC State, 7-0.

- UNCG -