ROME, Ga. (4/24/25) – Serving for the match down 0-40, Lilly Cvanciger battled back to clinch the Arkansas State women's tennis team's first conference tournament victory since 2015 in a 4-1 win over Georgia State Thursday in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Championship at the Rome Tennis Center.
The ninth-seeded Red Wolves (13-10) surged out to a 3-0 lead in the match before the Panthers (6-13) – seeded eighth in the 10-team field – picked up momentum late. However, A-State held strong before the freshman clinched the match on Court 2.
"To be honest, right now I'm out of words and I feel that I'm still processing things that just happened," Cvanciger said. "I can't begin to describe how proud I am of every single person on this team. The energy was incredible, and we kept our HALO strong. That was the secret sauce that led to today's win, and I can't be more grateful to clinch this match for this amazing group of people! Simply indescribable."
Anna Grigoreva and Carla Muro Castellvi got the Red Wolves started early in doubles, taking a 6-3 win on Court 1 over Pragnya Kumar and Sierra Sandy. A-State then took a 1-0 lead in the match when Hanmare McAslin and Sarah Millard toppled GSU's Luciana Galvez and Sara Radojevic 6-4 on Court 3.
When the doubles point was clinched, Cvanciger and Abigail Thurmer were locked in a 5-all tie with Francesca Miglio and Maria Paredes at the No. 2 position.
A-State's momentum carried into singles play, as it claimed three of six first sets. Muro Castellvi gave the Scarlet and Black a 2-0 lead in the contest when she won 6-2, 4-0 (ret.) against Defne Erbakan on Court 3.
McAslin then pushed the Red Wolves to a commanding 3-0 advantage when she routed Radojevic 7-5, 6-0 on Court 5. Galvez put the Panthers on the board shortly thereafter when she won a 6-1, 6-2 decision against A-State's Loles Carbo Chova, hoping to spark her team to a comeback win.
Cvanciger and the Red Wolves were able to hold off Georgia State's late surge, as she powered back to hold serve for the match-clinching win, a 7-6(5), 6-4 triumph over Miglio.
NEXT UP
The Red Wolves advance to the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference Championship for the first time since 2015. There, A-State will face top-seeded and 46th-ranked Old Dominion at 9 a.m. CT Friday, with the match streamed live on ESPN+.
(9) A-STATE 4 – (8) GEORGIA STATE 1
April 24, 2025 – Rome, Ga. – Sun Belt Conference Championship First Round
DOUBLES
#1 – Anna Grigoreva/Carla Muro Castellvi def. Pragnya Kumar/Sierra Sandy 6-3
#2 – Lilly Cvanciger/Abigail Thurmer vs. Francesca Miglio/Maria Paredes 5-5
#3 – Hanmare McAslin/Sarah Millard def. Luciana Galvez/Sara Radojevic 6-4
Order of finish: 1,3
SINGLES
#1 – Anna Grigoreva vs. Maria Paredes 5-7, 5-6, unf.
#2 – Lilly Cvanciger def. Francesca Miglio 7-6(5), 6-4
#3 – Carla Muro Castellvi def. Defne Erbakan 6-2, 4-0 ret.
#4 – Luciana Galvez def. Loles Carbo Chova 6-1, 6-2
#5 – Hanmare McAslin def. Sara Radojevic 7-5, 6-0
#6 – Sarah Millard vs. Pragnya Kumar 6-7(0), 3-5, unf.
Order of finish: 3,5,4,2
