MONTGOMERY, Ala. – In a battle that was as hot as the temperatures outside the Valdosta State Blazers held off the Lee women's tennis team, 4-3 in the Quarterfinal Round of the Gulf South Conference Championship on Thursday from Lagoon Park.
With the sunny beating down and temperatures reaching the upper 80's freshman Lauren Trammell and Bjork were deadlocked for nearly four hours in the deciding match with the score tied at 3-3.
Bjork was on the ropes in set two but held off two match points in the tiebreaker to force a third set before claiming the 7-6, 6-7, 6-4 win in the evenly contested fight.
The Blazers earned the double point with wins at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. Widdershoven and Barta outlasted Asia Grzegrzolka and Micaela Maiz, 7-6. Rivoal and Bjork took down Carley Sickinger and Lisa Kirr while Trammell and Sierra Donaldson teamed up to beat Langenstein and Chan-Yaneff for the Lady Flames.
Widdershoven topped Grzegrzolka, 6-2, 6-3 in straight sets at No. 1 singles. Kirr rolled to a first set shutout win of 6-0 before outlasting Barta 7-5 to earn the point for the Lady Flames.
Maiz won in straight sets at No. 4 singles, 7-6 and 6-2 over Rivoa and Donaldson rebounded from a slow start in set one falling behind 3-0 to rally for a 7-6 tiebreak win before blanking Chan-Yaneff, 6-0 to earn the third point for the Lee.
Langenstein earned a clutch victory at No. 3 singles over Sickenger, coming back from dropping the first set, 2-6 to win the point, 6-1 and 6-3. That victory forced a winner take all battle between Trammell and Bjork with Valdosta State winning the marathon match to advance to the GSC Semifinals.
"I'm so proud of our girls for battling and competing out there today. We knew it was going to be close just like when we played them in the regular season. Ironically, it came down to Hadley (Lauren Trammel) in both matches. Last time I thought she got a little nervous but I was so proud of her today for how she handled this moment and kept fighting for every point," said Lee head coach Patric Hynes. "She ran into some cramps in the third set and that girl was able to beat her but credit to her, she's a great player and Hadley made earn every bit of that win. As a team we left it all on the court today and that's all I can ask for as a coach."
The match was similar to the regular season battle as the Blazers edged Lee, 4-3 at the DeVos Tennis Center earlier this season.
"This team showed a lot resiliency this year. We won 16 matches and had to battle in many of those without our No. 1 (Francesca Tondi) who went down with an injury. Most teams wouldn't have recovered from that but our girls stepped up and I'm extremely proud of what they accomplished."
The win moves the fifth-seeded Blazers to 7-13 on the year and a GSC semifinal matchup with top-seeded West Alabama.
"I think as a player you want to come in and leave the program in better shape than when you came and I think that's exactly what happened with our three seniors (Francesca Tondi, Asia Grzegrzolka and Laura Beth Hardesty). They have helped us reach goals like being a top 50 ranked program, finish in the top four of the regular season and earn our highest NCAA D2 win total. They will all be very successful in their future endeavors with their work ethic, character and passion," concluded Hynes.
The loss ends the Lady Flames season at 16-6 after a 7-4 GSC mark. Lee earned the most wins, most conference wins and highest seed (fourth) in the GSC Tournament since joining the GSC and the NCAA as official members in 2015.
