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WTennis: Dasha Vidmanova fell short in the singles main draw quarterfinals at the ITA All-American Championships

No. 5 seed Vidmanova, who was the last Bulldog remaining in singles or doubles title contention, was set to face off against Southeastern Conference foe in No. 2 seed Mary Stoiana (Texas A&M). The match was competitive from first serve as both players exchanged points and games as the set progressed. Nearing the end of the first set, Vidmanova held on to extend the set to a deciding tiebreaker. The deciding points leaned opposite as Vidmanova fell in the tiebreaker 7-6(3) to trail after one.   

The trend of the match carried over into the second set as Vidmanova and Stoiana continued to win short leads but remained tight on the scoreboard. Vidmanova trailed late but sparked a comeback bid to force the second set to a 5-5 score line. A hard-fought battle to the end made for late match excitement in the final games, but Vidmanova fell just short by a score of 7-6(3), 7-5.  

Vidmanova later returned to the court alongside freshman Aysegul Mert to compete in the doubles main draw consolation quarterfinals against Eryn Cayetano and Emma Charney (USC). After a competitive opening to the match led the first set to a close 7-5 victory for their opponents, Mert and Vidmanova quickly leveled the match with a dominant 6-1 win in the second set. The opening stages of the tiebreaker steered towards both sides, but ultimately leaned opposite as Mert and Vidmanova fell in a closely contested 7-5, 1-6, 10-6 loss.  

More action for the Bulldogs within the same bracket saw the duo No. 8 seed juniors Mai Nirundorn and Guillermina Grant compete in the doubles main draw consolation quarterfinals against Abbey Forbes and Reilly Tran (UCLA). Coming off a victory in consolation play on Thursday, the duo wasted no time getting ahead in the match as the quick lead turned into a 6-4 first set win. All momentum sided with the Bulldogs as they made quick work in the second set to win and take the match 6-4, 6-1 and advance to the consolation semifinals. 

Georgia Opens Basketball Season with Stegmania

“This year was more student-based, so we got to see the students come out,” fifth-year senior Javyn Nicholson said. “Overall, I liked it. Jeezy did a great job. The fans were really interactive. They made it fun and made the environment really lively.” 

Following introductions of both teams, one player from each team partnered with a fan from the crowd in “Ball Like a Bulldog.” The first team to make a layup, a free throw and a 3-pointer took home a Bojangles prize pack. Nicholson and RJ Melendez edged out Jordan Cole and Justin Hill to win the first contest of the evening.  

The Lady Bulldogs then competed against the Bulldogs in a 3-point contest. Jabri Abdur-Rahim and Noah Thomasson beat De’Mauri Flournoy and Savannah Henderson by a 13 to 10 margin to earn bragging rights.  

Taniyah Thompson, Destiny Thomas and Stefanie Ingram won the “Quad Squad Georgia Gallop” where each team raced back-and-forth between baselines as each player made a basket of their choice. 

The Bulldogs then took the court for the dunk contest. Blue Cain earned top honors and took home the championship belt, earning perfect 10s for his second-round dunk. 

“Coach White tells us to just win the day,” Cain said. “If we win the day, we feel like it’ll take care of itself. So, we’re just focused on winning each day and getting better.” 

Georgia’s men open the season with Eastern Kentucky on Oct. 30 at 6:30 p.m. The Lady Bulldogs will host North Carolina A&T State University on Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. 

EQ: UGA fell to No. 4 Texas A&M, 13-6, on Friday afternoon

Despite many close-scoring rides, the sixth-ranked University of Georgia equestrian team fell to No. 4 Texas A&M, 13-6, on Friday afternoon at the Hildebrand Equestrian Complex. 

The individual rides between the Bulldogs and Aggies were closely scored even though the overall point gap was substantial. Across all four events, seven points were determined by a margin of one or less.

Highlighting the meet for Georgia (1-1, 0-1 SEC) was junior Catalina Peralta who most Most Outstanding Performer honors for her Fences ride.  The Geneva, Florida native scored an 86 for her course, the highest mark of the day, and defeated her Aggie opponent by seven points. 

“Today was certainly not the outcome that we wanted to display on our first road trip,” Georgia head coach Meghan Boenig said. “I really appreciate the good riding that we saw by Texas A&M. We had lots of little moments that we just didn’t capitalize on, which resulted in lots of little losses. There were many close rides so the outcome of the score doesn’t reflect how close many individual rides were. Having said that, we didn’t close the door in some places we needed to.”

Competition started in Fences with the Aggies edging the Bulldogs, 3-2. Texas A&M (2-0, 1-0 SEC) won the first three points of the event, two of which were by one-point margins.  Then the Bulldogs got on the board with an 86-79 point from Peralta.  Junior Melissa Deryn Foster finished the event with a score of 85 to defeat her Aggie counterpart by five points. 

Meanwhile in Horsemanship, the Aggies added four tallies to the Bulldogs’ one. Texas A&M riders won the first three points of the event.  Junior Jillian Stopperich scored a 73 for her ride to grab a point for the Bulldogs over Ella Petak’s score of 72.  The Aggies won the last Horsemanship ride. 

Georgia trailed 7-3 after two events.

The Aggies widened the gap in Flat, adding three points to their total.  Texas A&M won the first three rides before junior Jessica Guginsky matched her opponent’s score of 80 to push the point.  Senior Joran Toering claimed a point for the Bulldogs beating her opponent by three with a score of 78. 

Texas A&M sealed the win in Reining.  The Aggies took the first two points before sophomore Raegan Shepherd edged her opponent by half a point to add a tally for the Bulldogs. After another A&M point, junior Jax Bound won the final ride of the day with a score of 73.5.

Georgia is back in action next week with the South Carolina Gamecocks. The Bulldogs and Gamecocks will square off on Friday, October 13 at 2 p.m. at the UGA Equestrian Complex. Fans will be given pink ribbons and pumpkin painting will be available. Admission is free.

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