Women’s tennis continues conference play

The Troy women’s tennis team went 1-2 against Sun Belt Conference competition over spring break.

Troy played host to No. 39 Old Dominion in its first home conference contest of the season.

Old Dominion quickly grabbed command of the match with doubles victories on courts one and three before Troy standout Valeriia Avdeeva responded with a dominating 6-3, 6-1 win to tie the match up 1-1.

The Trojans were unable to muster up another singles victory despite some excellent play and multiple three-set matches.

Gabrielle Leslie eventually fell to No. 10 Sofia Johnson 7-5, 6-3 as the Monarchs secured the 4-1 victory.

Troy shook off the tough loss and proceeded to nab its first conference victory at home the following day against James Madison.

Troy took care of business with two 6-4 wins in doubles to begin the day and go ahead 1-0.

After swift defeats on courts one and six, Maria Guirguis tied the contest with a 6-3, 6-3 win on court two.

Avdeeva outdid her opponent 7-5, 6-4 for her 10th consecutive victory and improved her singles record to an impressive 11-1 on the year.

Leena Metwally clinched the match 4-2 for the Trojans with a 7-5, 6-4 victory of her own.

Veena Nazar’s match went unfinished although she was leading 4-1 in the third set.

The 2-2 Trojans then hit the road to Atlanta to face off against the 1-3 Georgia State Panthers.

Avdeeva and Guirguis dismantled their opponents in doubles by a score of 6-2 but the Panthers responded on courts two and three to secure the crucial doubles point.

Avdeeva rolled past her opponent on court three in 6-2, 6-0 fashion while Guirguis took the lead for the Trojans with a 6-2, 6-4 win on court two.

The Panthers tied things back up at 2-2 before Metwally retook the lead with her 6-3, 6-1 win on court four.

Unfortunately, Troy was unable to secure either one of the remaining lines as they fell 4-3 to the Panthers.

Troy, which sits at 2-3, will look to bounce back as it continues its road trip to 4-1 Coastal Carolina on Mar. 28 and 1-3 Georgia Southern on Mar. 30.