Box Score CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The No. 2 University of North Georgia (UNG) women's tennis team suffered a close 4-3 in loss in its debut match of the 2nd Annual Scenic City College Tennis Spring Break Showcase on Saturday afternoon. 

The Nighthawks (7-3, 1-0 Peach Belt) suffered the loss to the Flames (7-0, 4-0 Gulf South) after falling behind early in the match.

Lee took a 1-0 lead overall as Maria Penalver and Kanna Kobayakawa won the #2 doubles match 6-2. Ashleigh Simes and Aliyah Dwyer then defeated senior Angelina Linnikova and freshman Linn Goerdes 7-5 in a thrilling #1 doubles contest to secure the early advantage.

Dwyer and Kobayakawa then put the Nighthawks on the brink of losing with wins in the #3 and #4 singles matches respectively. 

ITA women's singles No. 7 Angelina Linnikova steadied things as she defeated No. 1 Ashleigh Simes 7-6 (9-7 tiebreaker), 6-4 in the #1 match. The win was not only big to keep UNG in the match, but it was a major personal victory for Linnikova. 

Linnikova exacted revenge against the nation's top-ranked women's singles player after falling to Simes in the ITA Cup Women's Singles National Championship back in the fall. That Oct.12 loss to Simes was the last time Linnikova suffered a loss in a singles match. 

Linnikova is now 9-0 in singles matches this fall with four of those wins coming against players ranked in the top-5 of the ITA's national rankings. Since the start of the fall season, Linnikova is 5-0 against top-25 singles opponents. 

Following Linnikova's victory, Nighthawk freshman Renata Morales made it 3-2 in the overall match as she picked up the first singles win of her career.

UNG continued its comeback in #5 singles with a 6-0, 6-7 (7-4 tiebreaker), 6-4 win from freshman Victoria Niox-Chateau against Nicolette Fuhr. 

With the match all squared at 3-3, the decisive singles match came at the #2 spot between Nighthawk senior Ashley Moinard and Lee's Maria Penalver. With the sets tied at 1-1, Penalver outlasted Moinard 6-4 in the final set to clinch the victory for her team. 

UNG has already faced four ranked opponents this season and has an opportunity to improve on its 2-2 record in such matches tomorrow, Sunday, March 9 as it plays host to No. 29 Catawba at 10 a.m. at the Champions Club Tennis Complex at Rivermont Park.