No. 4 Nighthawks Open 2025 NCAA Southeast Regional With 4-0 Victory
CLEMSON, S.C. – The No. 4 University of North Georgia (UNG) women's tennis team opened the 2025 NCAA Southeast Regional with a 4-0 win over No. 29 Georgia College at the Duckworth Family Tennis Facility in Clemson, S.C.
The second-seeded Nighthawks have now advanced to the Round of 32 in eight straight postseasons. With the victory over the seventh-seeded Bobcats, UNG will face third-seeded and No. 9 Columbus State (CSU) with a chance to punch its ticket to the NCAA Women's Tennis Championship for the second consecutive season.
Monday's win occurred on the campus of Clemson University at the Duckworth Family Tennis Facility after the team at Clemson graciously offered the use of their facility to avoid inclement weather in the Dahlonega area.
The Nighthawks opened Monday's match with a doubles victory to take an early 1-0 lead.
Junior Emily Bush and freshman Linn Goerdes dominated the #2 doubles match for a 6-1 victory, opening the door for senior Ashley Moinard and freshman Vasilissa Kupriyanova to clinch the doubles with their own 6-1 win.
Onto singles the match went and it did not take long for UNG to secure another point.
Kupriyanova rolled past her opponent for a 6-1, 6-1 triumph and the 11th singles victory of her freshman season.
Then, senior and Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) women's singles No. 2 Angelina Linnikova made more program history in the #1 singles match.
Linnikova raced past Chiara Santoro in 6-2, 6-1 win, marking her 22nd singles victory this year. The Irkutsk, Russia native is now 22-0 this season, tying the record for the most singles victories in one year which she tied last season with a 22-4 individual record.
Linnikova has now won 60 singles matches in the last three years at UNG. Earlier this season she surpassed the program's all-time singles wins record. She holds a staggering 60-6 record in singles matches in a Nighthawk uniform.
After the victory in #1 singles, UNG was ahead 3-0 in the match and one win away from advancing to the next round.
Senior Carolina Reis pushed the Nighthawks through to the Round of 32 with her eighth singles win of the season in a 6-2, 6-2 fashion over Natalie Kirka.
Reis and UNG will now gear up to face Peach Belt Conference rival CSU in the Round of 32 on Tuesday, May 13 at 11 a.m. The Nighthawks are 2-0 against the Cougars this year with a pair of thrilling 4-3 victories already.
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