Braves Fall at Home to Troy

VICKSBURG, Miss. – Alcorn was unable to stave off Troy on Sunday afternoon as the visiting Trojans collected a 7-0 decision from the Braves in a nonconference women's tennis match at Halls Ferry Tennis Courts in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Alcorn falls to 4-14 overall with the loss.
 
Troy (5-6) clinched the doubles point with victories in the first two courts, allowing the visitors to grab nearly 1-0 match advantage.
 
The top pairing of Maria Guirguis and Valeriia Avdeeva set the tone with a 6-0 shutout over Alcorn's duo of Hana Bajramovic and Amelia Tatafu. The second doubles team of Emilia Namyslo and Leena Metwally followed with a 6-2 victory over Katherine Grados and Natalija Nikolic.
 
Court three doubles featuring Troy's Hiba Heni/Alexia Zarate against the Braves team of Oihane Villanueva Lopez/Zoe Crimmel was left unfinished with Troy leading 5-2, as the outcome of the match had already been decided.
 
Troy's depth proved overwhelming in singles play, with the Trojans dropping just one set across all six courts. Valeriia Avdeeva turned in the most emphatic performance of the day, dispatching Amelia Tatafu 6-0, 6-0 at the No. 2 position.
 
Leena Metwally and Hiba Heni also posted comfortable straight-set victories on courts three and five, respectively.
 
At the top of the lineup, Maria Guirguis handled freshman Hana Bajramovic 6-3, 6-3 at No. 1, while Alexia Zarate ground out a 7-5, 7-5 decision over Oihane Villanueva Lopez in the fourth spot in one of the day's more competitive matches.
 
The final singles point of the afternoon went to Veena Nazar on court six, who survived a first-set tiebreak against Taylor Briffa – winning it 7-1 in the end, before closing out the match 6-3 in the second set.
 
The Braves travel to the second Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Pod of the season on March 27-29, taking place in Montgomery, Alabama. Once there, the Purple and Gold will face off against Grambling State, Southern (La.) and Alabama A&M, respectively.
 
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COMPLETE RESULTS
Singles Competition
1. Maria Guirguis (TROY) def. Hana Bajramovic (ALC) 6-3, 6-3
2. Valeriia Avdeeva (TROY) def. Amelia Tatafu (ALC) 6-0, 6-0
3. Leena Metwally (TROY) def. Zoe Crimmel (ALC) 6-3, 6-1
4. Alexia Zarate (TROY) def. Oihane Villanueva Lopez (ALC) 7-5, 7-5
5. Hiba Heni (TROY) def. Natalija Nikolic (ALC) 6-2, 6-2
6. Veena Nazar (TROY) def. Taylor Briffa (ALC) 7-6 (7-1), 6-3
 
Doubles Competition
1. Maria Guirguis/Valeriia Avdeeva (TROY) def. Hana Bajramovic/Amelia Tatafu (ALC) 6-0
2. Emilia Namyslo/Leena Metwally (TROY) def. Katherine Grados/Natalija Nikolic (ALC) 6-2
3. Oihane Villanueva Lopez/Zoe Crimmel (ALC) vs. Hiba Heni/Alexia Zarate (TROY) 2-5, unfinished