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WGolf: Jenny Bae named SEC Golfer of the Week after Augusta National performance

Georgia’s Jenny Bae was named the SEC Golfer of the Week on Wednesday, four days after her runner-up finish at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

Bae, a 5-3, super senior from Suwanee, Ga., shot 9-under 207 over three rounds and was tied atop the leaderboard before falling on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff at the ANWA.

Bae put together a record-setting performance in Augusta. She broke the ANWA tournament record for birdies with 16 and tied the ANWA first-round record for birdies with seven. In addition, Bae posted the second-best 54-hole score in tournament history.

Bae began the final round six shots back but shot 2-under 70, the low score for the day, in the final round at Augusta National Golf Club. She posted one of only three under-par rounds among the 31 golfers in the third round.

Bae is currently ranked No. 2 and No. 5 collegiately by Golfstat and Golfweek, respectively. She ascended eight spots to No. 20 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings following her performance in Augusta.

The accolade is Bae’s fifth weekly honor from the SEC during her career. Last fall, she was received Golfer of the Week recognition twice – on Oct. 13 after shooting a school-record 16-under tally to win the Illini Invitational and Oct. 27 after placing fourth at the Stanford Intercollegiate. Bae also was named Player of the Week last season on Feb. 16 and was tabbed Freshman of the Week on March 13, 2019. 

MTennis: Ethan Quinn named SEC Freshman of the Week for the third time this season

University of Georgia men’s tennis redshirt freshman Ethan Quinn has been named the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week for the third time this season, the league office announced on Wednesday afternoon.

The lone freshman in the SEC with multiple wins on court one, Quinn went undefeated during the team’s first two conference matches against No. 4 Kentucky and No. 59 Arkansas, notching a pair of wins in singles and doubles. The Fresno, Calif. native is the first Georgia player to earn the honors at least three times in a season since Nathan Ponwith did so five times throughout the 2017 spring season.

“I’m proud of Ethan for his work and continuing to get better all season,” said head coach Manny Diaz.  “He’s certainly gaining confidence and he does a tremendous job for us in both singles and doubles at the top position. He’s had a heck of a year. As his ranking shows, Ethan is one of the best players in the country and the intangibles he brings to our team are superb. He’s an extremely hardworking young man who’s got an extremely bright future.”

Beginning in doubles on Friday, Quinn, along with partner Trent Bryde found themselves down 5-3 in a breaker against No. 4 Kentucky’s 22nd-ranked Alafia Ayeni and Taha Baddi, with Georgia needing wins on courts one and three to clinch the doubles point. The No. 9 pair pulled off an extraordinary come-from-behind win to force the deciding match for the doubles point onto court three after winning five of the next six points, capped off by a thrilling rally that saw Quinn place a return into a tough spot for the Kentucky tandem, taking the match. The Bulldogs would claim the doubles point and took a 1-0 lead. 

Moving into singles, No. 4 Quinn faced another tall challenge, taking on the Wildcats’ No. 22 Liam Draxl, the 2021 ITA National Player of the Year award winner, on court one. Quinn would go on to earn a straight-set win over Draxl, 7-6(3), 7-6(2), clinching the victory for Georgia and giving the team its highest-ranked win this year. At the time of the clinch, the Bulldogs were up 4-0 but played out the remaining matches, finishing with a 5-2 win. 

On Sunday, the team went to Fayetteville to take on No. 59 Arkansas, where again, Quinn was an integral part of the win. No. 9 Bryde and Quinn took their fourth-consecutive match together with a 6-2 win over the Razorbacks’ Adrien Burdet and Melvin Manuel, picking up their 10th victory on court one. No. 4 Quinn then earned his seventh straight-set win of the spring with a 6-4, 6-4 decision over Stefanos Savva, helping lead the team to its second sweep of the season. 

Quinn has won eight of his previous nine singles matches and is 7-1 against SEC foes. He is tied for the fourth-most ranked singles wins in the SEC during the dual match season with six and holds 14 this year, including nine against players ranked in the top 40. The only freshman with wins on courts one in doubles and singles, Quinn has helped the team garner a perfect 8-0 SEC record and win its last nine matches. 

The Bulldogs’ upcoming matches will be on the road this weekend, beginning with No. 5 South Carolina on Friday at 6 p.m. ET and then heading to Gainesville on Sunday to take on No. 20 Florida on Sunday at noon. 

WTennis: Dawgs meet South Carolina and Florida in Athens this week

#5 GEORGIA vs #27 SOUTH CAROLINA

Date: Thursday, April 6

Time: 1 p.m.

Location: Athens, Georgia

Site: Dan Magill Tennis Complex

#5 GEORGIA vs #17 FLORIDA

Date: Sunday, April 9

Time: 1 p.m.

Location: Athens, Georgia

Site: Dan Magill Tennis Complex

MEDIA INFORMATION

Live Stats/Video: https://link.edgepilot.com/s/ca1166db/mlMAb03sOU_SviNWOltUvA?u=https://gado.gs/9y9

UGA Season Stats: https://link.edgepilot.com/s/3649ad62/Ux1wWS2KNEmJWSoifx0T9w?u=https://gado.gs/9yj

SCOUTING REPORT

Georgia

The Bulldogs are 15-4 on the season and 8-1 in SEC play. Georgia is coming off a 5-2 win over No. 43 LSU and a 5-2 loss to second-ranked Texas A&M.

Singles

#3 Lea Ma

#9 Dasha Vidmanova

#56 Mell Reasco

#72 Anastasiia Lopata

#125 Meg Kowalski

Doubles

#40 Grant/Nirundorn

#50 Kowalski/Reasco

South Carolina

South Carolina is 12-6 on the season and 7-2 in SEC play. The Gamecocks are coming off a pair of wins over No. 54 Arkansas (4-3) and Missouri (4-0).

Singles

#8 Ayana Akli

#19 Sarah Hamner

Doubles

#48 Ayana Akli & Sarah Hamner

Florida

Florida is 13-4 on the season and 7-2 in SEC play. The Gators are coming off a pair of wins over No. 54 Arkansas (5-2) and Missouri (7-0).

Singles

#37 Sara Dahlstrom

#45 Carly Briggs

#86 Alicia Dudeney

#120 Jayci Goldsmith

Doubles  

#53 Alicia Dudeney & Bente Spee

#79 Rachel Gailis & Carly Briggs

#46 Ewing/Goldsmith

All-Time Series

The Bulldogs own a 51-17 edge over the Gamecocks. The last time the two squads met, Georgia defeated South Carolina 4-1 in Columbia.

The Gators own a 49-10 mark over the Bulldogs. The last time the two squads met, Georgia defeated Florida 4-1 in Gainesville.

2023 ITA National Team Indoors Runner-Up

After defeating sixth-ranked Stanford, 15th-ranked Oklahoma and 14th-ranked Iowa State, the Bulldogs made the program’s ninth ITA Indoors finals appearance – a rematch with No. 2 North Carolina. Despite a spectacular run, Georgia fell to the Tar Heels 4-0. 

Under the direction of Coach Wallace the University of Georgia women’s tennis team has played for or won a National Championship in five different decades:

1987……………………………………………………………………………………………………………NCAA Finals

1994……………………………………………………………………………………………………………Indoor Champions

1994……………………………………………………………………………………………………………NCAA Champions

1995……………………………………………………………………………………………………………Indoor Champions 

1999……………………………………………………………………………………………………………NCAA Finals

2000……………………………………………………………………………………………………………NCAA Champions

2001……………………………………………………………………………………………………………Indoor Finals

2002……………………………………………………………………………………………………………Indoor Champions

2004……………………………………………………………………………………………………………Indoor Finals

2009……………………………………………………………………………………………………………Indoor Finals

2015……………………………………………………………………………………………………………Indoor Finals

2019……………………………………………………………………………………………………………Indoor Champions

2019……………………………………………………………………………………………………………NCAA Finals

2023……………………………………………………………………………………………………………Indoor Finals

Built to Last

Under the direction of Coach Wallace, Georgia has finished first or second in the SEC 29 times.

Weekend Lineup

Georgia

The Bulldogs are 15-4 on the season and 8-1 in SEC play. Georgia is coming off a 5-2 win over No. 43 LSU and a 5-2 loss to second-ranked Texas A&M.

Singles

#3 Lea Ma

#9 Dasha Vidmanova

#56 Mell Reasco

#72 Anastasiia Lopata

#125 Meg Kowalski

Doubles

#40 Grant/Nirundorn

#50 Kowalski/Reasco

South Carolina

South Carolina is 12-6 on the season and 7-2 in SEC play. The Gamecocks are coming off a pair of wins over No. 54 Arkansas (4-3) and Missouri (4-0).

Singles

#8 Ayana Akli

#19 Sarah Hamner

Doubles

#48 Ayana Akli & Sarah Hamner

Florida

Florida is 13-4 on the season and 7-2 in SEC play. The Gators are coming off a pair of wins over No. 54 Arkansas (5-2) and Missouri (7-0).

Singles

#37 Sara Dahlstrom

#45 Carly Briggs

#86 Alicia Dudeney

#120 Jayci Goldsmith

Doubles  

#53 Alicia Dudeney & Bente Spee

#79 Rachel Gailis & Carly Briggs

#46 Ewing/Goldsmith

Track and Field: Spec Towns and Torrin Lawrence Invitational events/times

Softball: No. 14/8 Georgia (29-7, 9-2) visits No. 8/9 Arkansas (27-9, 8-4) for weekend series

The 14^th-ranked Georgia softball team travels to Fayetteville, Arkansas for a top-15 SEC series with No. 8 Arkansas at Bogle Park.

The series begins tonight at 7 p.m. ET, and Saturday’s games will each start at 6 p.m. ET, and airing nationally on SEC Network.

Dates: Thursday,April 6-Saturday, April 8, 2023

First Pitch: 7 p.m., ET // 6 p.m., ET // 6 p.m., ET

Location: Fayetteville, Ark.

Stadium: Bogle Park

Streaming: SEC Network+ (Thursday // Friday)

TV: SEC Network (Saturday)

   Play-by-play: Mark Neely

   Analysis: Amanda Scarborough

» Thursday and Friday’s games will stream live on SEC Network+. Brett Dolan (play-by-play) and Dorian Craft (analysis) will be on the call Thursday with Josh Haley (play-by-play) and Sydney Parr Lee (analysis) on Friday.

» Saturday’s game will air live on SEC Network. Mark Neely (play-by-play) and Amanda Scarborough (analysis) will be on the call.

» Georgia leads the all-time series 38-22

» The Bulldogs are 15-10 in Fayetteville in the series

» Georgia has not visited Bogle Park since 2017; UGA dropped the first game of the series then won games two and three for the series win

» Arkansas swept the Bulldogs in the last series meeting in 2021 in Athens

» Prior to that, Georgia and Arkansas faced off in the SEC Tournament in 2018 and 2019

Recapping Action

Georgia lengthened its win streak to 11 games and won its fourth SEC series of the season, taking games one and two against No. 16 Kentucky at Jack Turner Stadium, 9-5, 4-3. A grand slam off the bat of Sydney Kuma in the first inning of game one set the tone for the Bulldogs to take the series. Georgia blasted three home runs in the fourth inning to take lead. Kentucky evaded the sweep, taking Monday’s game 4-0.

A Look at What’s Ahead

Georgia returns to Athens to host Georgia Southern in a midweek contest Wednesday, April 12. First pitch between the in-state foes is set for 6:30 p.m. The Bulldogs then travel to Gainesville, Florida for a three-game SEC series against No. 15/18 Florida April 14-16.

Georgia in the Polls

Georgia’s rankings after Week 8:

     – USA Today/NFCA: 14

     – ESPN/USA Softball: 8

     – D1Softball: 8

     – Softball America: 6

     – RPI: 13

Coaching Connections

Georgia volunteer coach and former Razorback Danielle Gibson Whorton will make her return to Fayetteville this weekend. Gibson Whorton was a two-time All-American at Arkansas (2021, 2022) and was a finalist for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year and the Honda Sport Award for Softball as a senior. She earned multiple conference and NFCA All-Region honors both at Arkansas and Arizona State in her career.

Arkansas assistant coach Yolanda McRae was an outfielder for the Bulldogs in 2003 and was part of the program’s first-ever SEC regular-season title. She spent the 2006 and 2014 seasons as a volunteer assistant in Athens. In her second coaching stint with Lu Harris-Champer, McRae helped Georgia to the 2014 SEC Tournament title and an appearance in the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Dogs Can Swing It

Georgia is currently slugging its way to the top of the SEC, leading the league with a .609 team slugging percentage. Additionally, UGA leads the Conference with 319 hits, 61 home runs, 13 triples, and second in the league with 57 doubles.

Shout Outs for Shutouts

The Bulldogs pitching staff has recorded 13 shutouts in 2023 including four in SEC play. Georgia’s three-straight SEC shutouts was the longest streak since 2006 (4). Shelby Walters and Madison Kerpics had combined to pitch 24-straight scoreless innings entering the Kentucky series. Earlier in the season, Georgia closed out the month of February shutting out six-straight opponents. That scoreless-inning streak reached 40 innings.

Bulldogs Start SEC Play Strong

Georgia’s began the 2023 SEC schedule winning nine of its first 10 games, that’s the best start for the Dogs since 2005. Georgia’s best-ever start to SEC play was in 2005 when the Bulldogs went 13-0 en route to an SEC Championship. This season’s nine-game SEC win streak was the best since 2010 (11).

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