Women’s tennis earns outstanding national ranking

Bruce Smith Staff Writer

The GC women’s tennis team is ranked the No. 14 team in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, or ITA.

The Bobcats received this top-15 ranking after a strong 14-2 start to their season.

With the Bobcats on track for a historic season, they still have some difficult opponents left on the schedule.

They managed to sweep Young Harris College 5-0 shortly after the release of the rankings and improved their record to 17-2.

Sophomore Sofia Shing has shined this year, and with no shock, she was able to take down her Young Harris opponent 6-0.

Shing was named to the first-team AllPBC singles team along with being a three-time Peach Belt Conference, or PBC, Player of the Week (2/6, 2/13, 3/7).

“She really just dominates and controls every game,” said Sebastian Nuñez, a senior and captain of the men’s tennis team. “I’ve been lucky enough to watch her play almost every match this season, and it really is a thing of beauty watching her play and dominate the competition.”

With the strong play of Shing, along with other team members stepping up, there is no surprise that the Bobcats received the high ranking that they did.

Even with the target of being the No. 14 team in the nation, the Bobcats have proved to live up to their ranking, taking down No. 12 University of North Georgia 4-3 on Senior Day.

Junior Ashton Morrison and sophomore Jada Young took a doubles point, defeating UNG 6-2.

“It felt great to get an early win for the team,” Morrison said. “Jada and I knew how important our match was, and we went out there and played really well against a strong opponent.”

With the teams tied 3-3, it came down to one final singles match between GC’s Shradha Chhabra and UNG’s Svetlana Teterina.

Even with the pressure, Chhabra powered through and got the final point, securing the upset victory for the Bobcats.

The Bobcats were all smiles after securing a win in their final home match, sending the seniors off with a great memory for their last time playing in Milledgeville.

Although they got the win on Senior Day, the team is still locked in and ready for the rest of the season.

“It was really nice for us to be able to beat UNG and win not only a big match, but an important one for our seniors,” Young said. “I am just really looking forward to the rest of the season because I feel like we have a really strong