ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - Holding a 1-0 lead in the overall match, four Reddies dropped their opening set before each player fought back, helping Henderson State seize the 7-0 sweep of Arkansas Tech Thursday afternoon from the Bettye Wallace Tennis Center.

Thursday marked the second victory over the Golden Suns this season and HSU's first GAC win of 2024, improving to 1-1 in league play and 10-7 overall.

Henderson opened the match with doubles victories at Nos. 1 and 3. Mulan Kamoe and Kristina Kozlova defeated the ITA No. 50 doubles team, 7-5, before Marianna Murcia and Haarini Balakrishnan clinched the doubles nod with the 6-4 triumph.

At singles, Kamoe made quick work of her opponent at the top line. The defending GAC Player of the Year won 12 of the 14 games played for the 6-0, 6-2 win. Following Kamoe's win, Arkansas Tech brought the 2-0 HSU lead into question.

While Kamoe was blanking her adversary in the first set, four other Reddies dropped their opening set to give the Golden Suns the overall match advantage. Jenna Kate Bohnert added another win for the red-and-gray, while ATU held the lead in four singles matches while Henderson opened a 3-0 lead.

Murcia made the first comeback, dropping her opening set at the No. 5 line, 6-2, before dominating each of the next two sets, 6-1 a piece. The match was clinched after that, but three Reddies still stood between the 4-0 lead and the sweep.

Kozlova and Balakrishnan extended the lead to 6-0 after falling in their opening sets. Kozlova took the second set after taking the 7-3 tiebreaker before finishing things in the third, 6-2. Balakrishnan fought back from a 6-2 first-set loss with a pair of 6-4 wins.

Angela Georgieva echoed Kozlova's performance with a second-set tiebreaker win before clinching HSU's 7-0 sweep with a super-tiebreaker 10-7 in the final stanza.

Henderson State will look for its second straight GAC win this Sunday, Apr. 14 when the Reddies head to Searcy, Arkansas, to meet Harding at 1 p.m. in the team's first road conference match of the season.  

RESULTS

Doubles:
No. 1 Mulan Kamoe/Kristina Kozlova (HSU) def. #50 Monica Balau/Melanie Griffiths (ATU) 7-5
No. 2 Elis Gergerl/Sofia Beggiatoo (ATU) def. Angela Georgieva/Jenna Kate Bohnert (HSU) 7-6 (7-4)
No. 3 Marianna Murcia/Haarini Balakrishnan (HSU) def. Madalena Amil/Maria Krite (ATU) 6-4

Singles:
No. 1 Mulan Kamoe (HSU) def. Monica Balau (ATU) 6-0, 6-2
No. 2 Kristina Kozlova (HSU) def. Elis Gergel (ATU) 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2
No. 3 Angela Georgieva (HSU) def. Madalena Amil (ATU) 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 10-7
No. 4 Jenna Kate Bohnert (HSU) def. Sofia Beggiatto (ATU) 6-1, 6-4
No. 5 Marianna Murcia (HSU) def. Kristyna Dvorakova (ATU) 2-6, 6-1, 6-1
No. 6 Haarini Balakrishnan (HSU) def. Maria Krite (ATU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4