COLUMBUS, Ga. – The No. 5 University of North Georgia (UNG) women's tennis team are the 2025 Peach Belt Conference Tournament Champions for the second straight year after a thrilling 4-3 victory over No. 10 Columbus State (CSU) in the championship match Sunday.

The Nighthawks (18-6) become the first program since 2019 and the third in conference history to win back-to-back PBC Tournament titles. 

Prior to last year's record-shattering 25-2 season, UNG had beaten the Cougars (15-6) just twice in 21 attempts in program history. However, the Nighthawks have won three straight matches against CSU dating back to last season's NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Championship. UNG swept the Cougars in both meetings this year.

Sunday's win did not come easy for the Nighthawks despite them taking an early advantage. 

UNG won the doubles point in comeback fashion as CSU took the #2 doubles match 6-0 to pull ahead first. Senior Ashley Moinard and freshman Vasilissa Kupriyanova hung tight and came away with a 6-3 victory over Annie Adams and Majra Djokic in #3 doubles.

The overall match point would be decided in the #1 matchup which saw four of the nations top 10 doubles competitors battle for momentum. 

The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) ranks Nikoline Gullacksen and Mariana Ramirez as the No. 10 women's doubles duo in the nation. UNG seniors Angelina Linnikova and Carolina Reis earned the No. 8 spot in the latest ITA ranking despite a loss to Gullacksen and Ramirez in the regular season. 

Linnikova and Reis fell 6-4 to the Cougar pairing back on April 14 before UNG ultimately came back with four singles wins to steal the contest. Sunday was earmarked for revenge, however, as Linnikova and Reis rallied from a 4-5 deficit to win three consecutive games and snatch the match 7-5.

The Nighthawks took a 1-0 lead into singles play. 

In singles, junior Emily Bush completely dismantled Majra Djokic in #6 singles 6-0, 6-0 to quickly add the second point of the match next to UNG's name.

CSU would not go quietly, though, as Isadora Oliveira and Sofia Lauretti quickly tied the match with a pair of commanding victories in the #5 and #4 contests. 

At 2-2 in the overall match, Moinard earned her second ranked win of the season of ITA women's singles No. 33 Mariana Ramirez. The Nighthawk native of Nice, France took the first set 6-4 but dropped the second set 1-6. In a fierce spirit, Moinard dominated the third set 6-0 to put UNG up 3-2 overall and on the brink of another championship. 

As Moinard won, the #1 and #2 singles matches were in the throes of a decisive third set. 

Kupriyanova split the first and second sets 3-6, 6-3 with Laura Pesickova. At the time of Moinard's victory, Kupriyanova was within striking distance but trailed 1-3 in the third set. However, Pesickova pulled away 2-6 for the victory. 

As was the case in the April 14 meeting between these two teams, the #1 singles match would fittingly serve as the decisive contest. 

Linnikova and Gullacksen have a storied past. Their rivalry dates back to the 2023 season in Linnikova's first competitive year as a Nighthawk. In that season Linnikova went 16-2 in singles play, but Gullacksen handed her one of those two losses in a three-set battle during the regular season. A PBC Tournament matchup later that year went unfinished as CSU clinched the 2023 title before a winner could be decided.

The two avoided each other last year as Linnikova competed in the #1 singles spot in all 27 matches while Gullacksen anchored the #2 spot in CSU's lineup. 

However, Sunday's matchup marked the sixth time this season Linnikova and Gullacksen have peered at each other across the white tape. 

The first two meetings came during ITA tournaments in the fall. Gullacksen got the better of Linnikova in a doubles meeting in the ITA Southeast Regional Championship. Linnikova bounced back to defeat Gullacksen 6-4, 6-4 in singles in the ITA Cup National Semifinals.

Then came the regular season meeting in which Gullacksen again defeated Linnikova in doubles but lost a ranked showdown in singles. 

Then, Sunday. This time Linnikova found a path to victory in the doubles showdown against Gullacksen, but it was all for naught if she couldn't pull out a singles victory too. 

The junior Cougar entered Sunday's match ranked as the ITA No. 12 women's singles player in the nation. The bad news for Gullacksen is that Linnikova has feasted on ranked opponents this year. The Nighthawk senior, ranked as the No. 2 women's singles player nationally, was a perfect 8-0 against ITA nationally ranked opponents going into Sunday's meeting. That includes a 5-0 mark against players currently ranked in the top 15. 

Linnikova got ahead early with wins in the first two games of set one, but Gullacksen rattled off four straight wins to pull ahead 4-2. Then it was Linnikova's turn to win four in-a-row and take the opening set 6-4. 

Set two was more evenly matched as the rivals traded wins to a 4-4 draw before Gullacksen won two straight games to come away with a 6-4 victory and even the match. 

With their individual match tied 1-1 and the overall match locked at 3-3, the foundation had been built for an all-or-nothing third set. The kind of set that shows everyone what you're made of. Linnikova is made of something different than just about everyone else in the country. 

"Feasted" was not hyperbole when referring to Linnikova's performances against ranked opponents this season. She has repeatedly displayed masterclass performances in dominating fashion against the best players in the country. She is unrelenting in her attack. She wilts her opponents into dust before flexing her muscles and letting out a roar after winning a big point. She expects to dominate everyone she faces and so far this season she has. Sunday was no different. 

In the decisive third set, Linnikova was surgical in her dispatching of Gullacksen. She raced out to a 3-0 lead before Gullacksen finally won a game. After that, Linnikova was suddenly on a roll again and up 5-1. In the final game, Linnikova won the first three points before Gullacksen finally scored. In a 40-15 match point, Linnikova watched Gullacksen's shot sail past the end line, unleashing a frenzy as her teammates flooded the court to celebrate the victory. 

With Linnikova's 21st singles win of the season and ninth over a ranked opponent, the Nighthawks are once again champions of the PBC Tournament. She was named the singles Most Valuable Player of the tournament while joining her teammate Reis in earning the honor as doubles MVP as well. 

Prior to the 2022 season, UNG women's tennis had won exactly zero PBC titles in its 16-year history. Since then the Nighthawks have hoisted a conference trophy three times for the regular-season crown and twice for the tournament. They have won 62.5 percent of possible PBC championships in that span, more than any team in the conference. 

Earning an automatic bid into the 2025 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional, UNG is in line to host the regional tournament for the second consecutive season. 

Last year, seven teams were selected for the tournament from the Southeast Region and the top two seeds served as hosts of the event. 

At No. 5 in the country this year, the Nighthawks are currently the second-highest ranked team in the region behind No. 4 Catawba who holds a perfect 23-0 record after winning the South Atlantic Conference Tournament on Friday.

The NCAA Selection Committee will announce the regional brackets later this week.