WBB: Georgia opens with Gardner-Webb tonight
#19 Georgia Lady Bulldogs (0-0) vs. Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs (0-1)
Thursday, Nov. 11 | 7 p.m. ET | Athens, Ga. | Stegeman Coliseum (10,523)
Watch: SEC Network + (Matt Stewart and Mark Slonaker)
Listen: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network (Jeff Dantzler)
WGAU 98.7 FM and AM1340 and The Georgia Bulldogs App
Opening Tip
» Georgia is set to open the 2021-22 season against the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs this Thursday evening at Stegeman Coliseum.
» Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET with Matt Stewart and Mark Slonaker calling the action on SEC Network +. Fans can also listen to the voice of the Lady Bulldogs, Jeff Dantzler. Dantzler has spent over two decades calling some of the best moments in Georgia sports history.
» Georgia is 39-9 in season-opening games overall and has won 15-straight lid-lifters dating back to the 2005-06 season (L, 84-72 to No. 6 Baylor).
» The Lady Bulldogs own a 26-2 overall record in season-opening home games. The team is a perfect 5-0 in home openers under Coach Taylor’s leadership.
» Graduates Que Morrison and Jenna Staiti return to lead the Lady Bulldogs. Morrison and Staiti were Georgia’s top two scorers and rebounders last season, accounting for close to 30 points and 15 rebounds per game. Overall, the Lady Bulldogs return 83 percent of their scoring from last year’s team.
» Morrison and Staiti were each named to the preseason All-SEC second-team in a vote by league coaches. Staiti was also tabbed to the Lisa Leslie Award Watch List for the nation’s top center and the Naismith National Player of the Year Watch List.
» Each of Georgia’s seniors have already earned their college degrees. Malury Bates (sociology), Mikayla Coombs (sport management), Morrison (communication studies) and Staiti (human development and family science) have all graduated from the University of Georgia.
» 2021 SEC Coach of the Year Joni Taylor enters her seventh season leading the Georgia Lady Bulldog basketball program. Taylor finished as a National Coach of the Year finalist after leading Georgia to the SEC tournament finals for the first time since 2004 and its highest NCAA tournament seeding since 2007 (No. 3 seed).
» Georgia also welcomes back 2021 SEC All-Freshman Team selection Sarah Ashlee Barker as well as Jordan Isaacs, who started all 28 games at the ‘4’ spot last season.
» The Lady Bulldogs signed two McDonald’s All-Americans in the same recruiting class for the first time in program history this past offseason. Guard Reigan Richardson and forward Jillian Hollingshead are set for their freshman seasons, along with Alina Sendar and Kimora Jenkins.
MTENNIS: Ethan Quinn ranked No. 3 recruit signes LoI with UGA
Ethan Quinn, the No. 3 ranked recruit in the nation according to tennisrecruiting.net, has signed a national letter of intent with the University of Georgia men’s tennis team, head coach Manuel Diaz announced on Wednesday.
“Ethan was the highest sought American prospect this year, so we are excited he’s chosen to be a Bulldog,” head coach Manuel Diaz said.
The Fresno, California native is the first signee of Georgia’s 2022 class. In addition to being a top-3 prospect, he is also the No. 1 player from the Southwest and the state of California according to tennisrecruiting.net.
Quinn secured a career-high ranking of No.1 in the USTA Juniors and No.25 in the ITF Junior World Rankings. The 6’2 right-hander has been a 3-time ITF winner in 2021, most recently the J3 in Cakovec, Croatia. He was the singles champion of the 2021 International Open of Southern California, a 2021 Easter Bowl singles finalist, a Junior US Open Doubles semi-finalist and was a doubles finalist in the USTA Boys 18’s National Championships. Quinn was the 2020 Boys 16’s Orange Bowl Doubles champion, won the 2019 USTA Boys 16’s singles National Championship and was the Valley champion his freshman year of high school.
“We know he will leave his mark at Georgia and in college tennis. We can’t wait to get to work with him and help him develop and meet his goals.”
WTENNIS: Darja Vidmanova signs with UGA
University of Georgia women’s tennis head coach Jeff Wallace announced Wednesday, Nov. 10, the signing of Darja Vidmanova (pronounced DAR-e-uh vid-MAN-ova) to the Bulldog tennis program.
Vidmanova, a native of Prague, Czech Republic has climbed as high as No. 21 in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior rankings. She has played in numerous Junior Grand Slams, including third-round appearances at the Australian and French Open, as well as, a second-round appearance in Wimbledon. In 2019, Vidmanova won the Grade 1 Offenbach in Germany and the Grade 2 Tribuswinkel in Austria — both on clay courts.
Throughout her career, Vidmanova has posted a career-high 11.51 Universal Tennis Rating — UTR is a global rating system that promotes fair and competitive play across the tennis world on a scale between 1 and 16.50 based on actual match results.
“Darja is an incredibly experienced player,” said Georgia associate head coach Drake Bernstein. “Coming from Czech (Republic), she has played all over the world. Darja has reached the Round of 16 three times in Junior Grand Slams, against some of the best competition in the world. She has multiple top-10 wins, and we are excited about what she will bring to the locker room. She had a great time on her visit and she will fit in really well with our group.”
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