(Photo by John Kelley)
The victory gives the Bulldogs their sixth consecutive SEC win and improves them to 15-4 on the season and 8-1 in SEC play. Missouri falls to 8-13 and 0-9.
“I’m really proud of our team,” said head coach Jeff Wallace. “We had to play outside in some windy weather but were able to overcome it and had a lot of fun. I thought we did a great job across the courts and it was definitely a good day for our team.”
After deciding to forego the doubles matches that usually take place prior to singles play, Georgia came out and won in straight-sets on all six singles courts to take the match from the Tigers. The Bulldogs dropped just 18 games total across all of the matches.
Freshman Ellen Perez earned Georgia its first point with a 6-1, 6-2 win on court 1, while fellow rookie Kennedy Shaffer won 6-1, 6-2 on court 2 to double the Bulldogs’ advantage shortly thereafter. After sophomore Caroline Brinson won her team-leading 13th singles dual match of the season 6-2, 6-0 on court 6, freshman Hannah King stepped up and clinched the match with a 6-1, 6-3 victory on court 5. Junior Silvia Garcia (6-0, 6-3) and freshman Mariana Gould (6-0, 7-5) then polished off the victory with wins of their own on courts 3 and 4, respectively.
The Bulldogs improved to 4-0 in the all-time series against the Tigers with the win. They will now return home to the Dan Magill Tennis Complex for their final two home matches of the regular season against Ole Miss on Friday at 5 p.m. and Mississippi State on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Singles Results
1) No. 62 Ellen Perez (UGA) def. Kelli Hine (MIZ): 6-1, 6-2
2) No. 58 Kennedy Shaffer (UGA) def. Cassidy Spearman (MIZ): 6-1, 6-0
3) No. 89 Silvia Garcia (UGA) def. Brianna Lashway (MIZ): 6-0, 6-3
4) Mariana Gould (UGA) def. Brittany Lashway (MIZ): 6-0, 7-5
5) No. 79 Hannah King (UGA) def. Clare Relay (MIZ): 6-1, 6-3
6) No. 104 Caroline Brinson (UGA) def. Madison Rhyner (MIZ): 6-2, 6-0
Doubles Results
Not played
Order of Finish: Singles (1,2,6,5,3,4)