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WTEN: Dawgs Sweep No. 32 Ole Miss

No. 1 Georgia women’s tennis (7-1, 2-0 SEC) swept No. 32 Ole Miss (6-2, 1-1 SEC) 4-0, at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on Thursday night.
 
Fast Facts

• This match marks Georgia’s first home match of the season and the SEC home opener. 
• In doubles play, Georgia’s No. 8 Aysegul Mert and Deniz Dilek defeated No. 77 Emily Welker and Andrea Nova of Ole Miss, 6-1, on court 1, securing their fourth-ranked win of the season.
• Emma Dong and Anastasiia Gureva clinched the doubles point for the Bulldogs against Brooklyn Olson and Inchino Horikawa with a 6-4 victory on court 3.
• Moving into singles, Dong finished first with a 6-0 shutout in the first set and a 6-2 win in the second set against Owen Wilkinson, putting the Bulldogs ahead 2-0. 
• No. 30 Gureva added a point for the Bulldogs with a straight-sets victory over Ole Miss’ Andrea Nova, 6-2, 6-1.
• No. 52 Sofia Rojas clinched the win for Georgia against Horikawa 6-4, 6-1.

Results

Doubles:

1. #8 Deniz Dilek/Aysegul Mert (UGA) def. #71 Emily Welker and Andrea Nova (OM): 6-1

2. #77 Anastasiia Lopata and Patricija Paukstyte vs. Alice Soulie/Riley Crowder (OM): 4-5, unfinished 

3. Emma Dong/Anastasiia Gureva (UGA) def. Brooklyn Olson/ Inchino Harikawa (OM): 6-4

Singles:

1. #7 Aysegul Mert (UGA) vs. #11 Emily Welker (OM): 6-3, 4-2, unfinished 
2. #41 Deniz Dilek (UGA) vs. Alice Soulié (OM): 1-6, 6-2, unfinished
3. #30 Anastasiia Gureva (UGA) def. Andrea Nova (OM): 6-2, 6-1
4. #91 Patricija Paukstyte (UGA) vs. Riley Crowder (OM): 3-6, 3-3, unfinished
5. #52 Sofia Rojas (UGA) def. Ichino Horikawa (OM): 6-4, 6-1 
6. Emma Dong (UGA) def. Owen Wilkinson (OM): 6-0, 6-2

Order of finish: Doubles (1, 3); Singles (6, 3, 5)
 
Up Next
No. 1 Georgia will return home to host No. 9 LSU on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 2 p.m. ET at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

SB: The 17th Annual Bulldog Classic Begins Today

The No. 11 Georgia Bulldogs will host South Alabama and UNC-Wilmington in the 17^th Annual Bulldog Classic this weekend at the Jack Turner Stadium.

No. 11/15 Georgia (13-5)
at the 17^th Annual Bulldog Classic
Location: Athens, Ga.
Venue: Jack Turner Stadium
Feb. 27 – Mar. 1, 2026
Tickets: GeorgiaDogs.com

Tournament Schedule (home team listed first):
Friday, Feb, 27
6:00 p.m. – Georgia vs. South Alabama

Saturday, Feb, 28
10:30 a.m. – South Alabama vs. UNC-Wilmington
1:00 p.m. – Georgia vs. South Alabama
3:30 p.m. – Georgia vs. UNC-Wilmington

Sunday, Mar. 1
10:30 a.m. – UNC-Wilmington vs. South Alabama
1:00 p.m. – Georgia vs. UNC-Wilmington

Media Information
Streaming: SEC Network+
                  PxP: Hank Tatum
Live Updates: GeorgiaDogs.com 
X Updates: @UGASoftball

Leading Off
No. 11 Georgia enters the 17th Annual Bulldog Classic on the back of a midweek game against Clemson at The Jack. Georgia will host South Alabama and UNC-Wilmington this upcoming weekend in a six-game round-robin style event.

Series History
South Alabama
– Georgia is 2-2 all-time against South Alabama
– In the last meeting, the Panthers won in a thriller, 9-8, in 2021

UNC-Wilmington
– Georgia is perfect in all eight meetings between the two schools
– Last time out, the Bulldogs defeated the Seahawks in an 8-0, run-rule victory in 2024

Georgia in the Polls
Georgia in the Polls: Week Three
     – NFCA/GoRout: 15
     – ESPN/USA Softball: 11
     – D1Softball: 11
     – Softball America: 12

Opponent Outlook
South Alabama enters the weekend with an 11-5 record and on a four-game win streak after sweeping competition at home last weekend in the South Alabama Invitational. The Jaguars outscored their opponents 28-9 across four games against West Georgia, Loyola-Chicago, UT-Martin and North Alabama. 

In the circle for South Alabama, RHP Rylee Harrison leads the way with a 6-2 record and a 1.71 ERA. She has 46 strikeouts to 16 walks on the year and has yielded 13 earned runs. RHP Sydney Scapin follows behind with a 2-2 record and 3.05 ERA on the season.

Batting for the Jaguars, OF Presley Lively paces the offense with a .378 average to go with 17 hits, 13 runs, two doubles, three triples and three RBIs. INF Olivia Branstetter has a team-high 16 RBIs, and INF Lillie Stagner commands a team-best three home runs. As a team, South Alabama is batting .280 with 111 hits and 75 runs.

UNC-Wilmington enters the weekend at 8-5. Last weekend, the Seahawks went 4-0 with shutout wins over Georgetown and Iona (twice) before defeating Lafayette, 5-2, to close out the slate.

The Seahawks are led in the circle by sophomore Lynsie Herman, who has made four starts this season with a 2.86 ERA and a 1-0 record. Freshman Camille Hamilton leads UNCW with a 1.52 ERA in seven appearances (one start). 

Offensively, the Seahawks are batting .322 collectively. UTL Emily Whitwell paces the UNCW offense, batting at a .476-clip with 20 hits, six runs, one double, one triple and seven RBIs. UTL Becca Merrick and IF Avery Daughtry each have a home run on the year, and Merrick, alongside IF Ava Brookshire, lead the offense with 10 RBIs each.

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