ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – The No. 4 University of North Georgia (UNG) women's tennis 2025 season has come to an end in the 2025 NCAA National Quarterfinals after a 4-0 loss to No. 8 Flagler at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Fla. on Thursday.

After making their second consecutive and fourth overall appearance at the National Championship site, the Nighthawks were unable to return to the National Semifinals for a second year in-a-row after running into their conference foe in the quarterfinals. 

Despite the loss, UNG's 2025 season will go down as another impressive step towards the building of a national championship caliber program. 

This was a team that was not supposed to be here in the first place, as openly stated by head coach Kent Norsworthy. 

"No chance. Not a chance I thought we'd get back here after last year," Norsoworthy said after the team's regional win over No. 9 Columbus State (CSU). 

That sentiment should not come as a shock either. After all, UNG graduated four of the winningest players in program history after making a National Semifinals appearance for the first time ever. 

While key seniors like Angelina Linnikova, Ashley Moinard and Carolina Reis returned to this year's team, the roster was full of new and unchallenged players that had yet to be tested at the highest level.

Norsworthy's expectations were not pessimistic, they were realistic. Until they weren't. 

In just the fourth match of the year, the Nighthawks went on the road and handedly defeated No. 10 Auburn Montgomery 6-1. 

A week later they took down then No. 7 Flagler at the ITA Women's Indoor Team National Championship 4-3 in a thrilling victory. Despite two losses to top-five-ranked teams at the ITA Indoor Championship, UNG was competitive and appeared like it might have the makings of a great team.

Losses to other nationally-ranked teams like No. 25 Catawba and No.18 West Florida kept the Nighthawks humble and honest. The same can be said for a 4-3 home loss to the No. 4 Saints in the first rematch of the year. 

UNG ended the regular season on a six-match winning streak to claim a share of the Peach Belt Conference title. 

In the PBC Tournament, the Nighthawks took down No. 10 CSU 4-3 to become the first program to win back-to-back league tournament titles since 2019. 

UNG earned the second seed and hosting rights in the Southeast Regional before taking down No. 29 Georgia College and the ninth-ranked Cougars once more to return to Altamonte Springs, Fla. for the second straight year.

While the trip to the Sunshine State did not end how this team had hoped or expected, the run they made to get there will not be forgotten. 

The three seniors on this team banded together with a collection of newcomers to create a special group that exceeded expectations this season. 

"The experience we gained last year with this group I think helped a lot," said Norsworthy after the match. "The conversations from those three were always positive and looking forward to this."

The contributions of Reis, Moinard and Linnikova to the UNG women's tennis program cannot be overstated.

Reis worked her tail off for two seasons in Dahlonega after transferring from Northwest Missouri State. She became a vocal leader and tandem piece for one of the best women's doubles combinations in the country this season. 

Reis and Linnikova paired together to make up the No. 7 ranked doubles combo in the country. The two were named PBC Tournament Doubles MVPs and finished the year with an outstanding 11-2 record. 

Moinard's marks will forever be left on the program after she clinched UNG's National Semifinal victory over Academy of Art last season. The Nice, France native finished her three-year career with 48 career singles wins, the fourth-most in program history. 

Linnikova's Nighthawk career concluded Thursday as well. She closed this chapter of her life as the greatest player in North Georgia women's tennis history. 

The redshirt senior from Irkutsk, Russia was UNG's #1 singles player in each of the last two seasons. She combined to go 46-4 in singles matches during that time. She made plenty of history along the way.

Ranked by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) as the No. 2 women's singles player in the country, Linnikova earned the highest individual ranking in program history this season. She finished the year with a spotless 24-0 singles record, marking the best winning percentage and the most singles victories in one year in program history. 

Those 24 victories contributed to her career grand total of 62 singles wins, the most in program history by seven wins. Linnikova competed in just three years of singles competition at a .912 winning percentage. Her 45 doubles wins are also the third-most in a career in program history. 

While in Dahlonega, Linnikova earned every award under the sun. The 2025 PBC and ITA Southeast Region Player of the Year was also a four-time PBC all-conference selection, eight-time PBC Player of the Week winner, an ITA All-American and a PBC Tournament MVP. 

"I put a lot on our seniors," admitted Norsworthy after Wednesday's loss. "I put a lot of responsibility on them to lead the team and have conversations."

"They're just good people. I'm proud of where they came from and the growth to where they are now. I know they're going to move on to bigger and better things and that's the ultimate goal."

The Nighthawks will move onto bigger and better things. Those that are graduating and those that are returning alike. 

If there's anything Norsowrthy has shown in his 20 seasons as the head coach of the UNG tennis programs, it's that growth is not only mandatory, it's inevitable.