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Softball: No. 4/4 Georgia (5-0) opens play at the Shriners Children’s Clearwater Invitational today

Dates: Thursday, Feb. 15-Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024

Georgia Opponents:

   Wisconsin (4-1)

   #6/8 Oklahoma State (5-0)

   #19/20 UCLA (2-3)

   #7/5 Florida State (4-1)

   Minnesota (3-2)

Location: Clearwater, Fla.

Stadium: Eddie C. Moore Complex

Dates: Thursday, Feb. 15-Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024

Georgia’s Tournament Schedule

Thursday, Feb. 15

   1 p.m. – vs. Wisconsin // Field 8

         SEC Network: Tiffany Greene, Madison Shipman

Friday, Feb. 16

   10 a.m. – vs. #6/8 Oklahoma State // Field 9

         ESPNU: Mark Neely, Amanda Scarborough

   4 p.m. – vs. #19/20 UCLA // Field 9

         ESPN+: Mark Neely, Amanda Scarborough

Saturday, Feb. 17

   10 a.m. – vs. #7/5 Florida State // Field 8

         ESPN2: Tiffany Greene, Madison Shipman

   4 p.m. – vs. Minnesota // Field 1

         ESPN+: Tyler Denning, Jenny Dalton-Hill

Media Information

TV: ESPN networks

Streaming: ESPN+

The fourth-ranked Georgia softball team hits the road this week to take part in the Shriners Children’s Clearwater Invitational Presented by EvoShield in Clearwater, Florida.

Georgia will take on top-25 teams in No. 6/8 Oklahoma State, No. 19/20 UCLA, and No. 7/5 Florida State as well as Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Follow the Bulldogs

» All games of the Shriners Children’s Clearwater Invitational Presented by EvoShield will air or stream live on the networks of ESPN. Georgia will appear on linear television against Wisconsin (SEC Network), Oklahoma State (ESPNU), and Florida State (ESPN2). Georgia’s games against UCLA and Minnesota will stream live on ESPN+ via subscription.

Series Histories

Wisconsin

– First meeting

Oklahoma State

– Georgia trails the all-time series 2-4

– The Bulldogs and Cowgirls last met in 2021 in Oklahoma City when OSU edged Georgia 3-2

– Previously, UGA and OSU met in the 2016 Athens Regional. OSU forced a winner-take-all game seven, but Georgia held on to shutout the Cowgirls and punch its ticket to the Super Regional round.

– Georgia is 1-3 against Oklahoma State on neutral fields

UCLA

– Georgia trails the all-time series 2-15

– The Bulldogs and Bruins last met in Clearwater in 2020; UCLA won 8-3

– Georgia last beat then-No. 5 UCLA in 2012 in the Cathedral City Classic, run-ruling the Bruins 13-4

– 12 of the 17 all-times meetings have been on a neutral field; Georgia is 1-11 against UCLA at neutral sites

Florida State

– Georgia trails the all-time series 8-11

– 11 of the 19 all-time meetings have come in the NCAA Tournament, more than any other team Georgia has played in the postseason, including the last eight-straight meetings dating back to 2010; the last regular season meeting was March 24, 2010 in Athens

– Georgia is 4-7 all-time against the Seminoles in the NCAA Tournament

– The Bulldogs dropped back-to-back games in Tallahassee in the Super Regional round of last season’s NCAA Tournament

– Georgia is 1-3 against Florida State on neutral fields

– The Bulldogs last beat FSU in Oklahoma City on June 2, 2016, 5-4

Minnesota

– Georgia leads the all-time series 6-4

– The Bulldogs beat the Golden Gophers in a pair of games in Orlando on opening weekend in 2022

– Previously, Minnesota knocked the Bulldogs out of the 2019 NCAA Tournament in Minneapolis

– Georgia is 2-1 against Minnesota on neutral field

Georgia in the Polls

Georgia in the Poll: Week 1

     – USA Today/NFCA: 4

     – ESPN/USA Softball: 4

     – D1Softball: 5

     – Softball America: 4

*highest NFCA and USA Softball rankings since Week 12 2011 (4)

Recapping Action

Georgia opened the 2024 season going 5-0 in the Red & Black Showcase in Athens last weekend. The Bulldogs beat Murray State and Purdue twice and shutout South Dakota. Georgia shined on all sides of the ball as the offense hit .310, scoring 28 runs, and knocking 10 homers. The pitching staff allowed just two runs in 33 innings, striking out 34 while the defense committed just two errors all weekend including turning four double plays.

WTennis: Two Bulldogs earn SEC weekly honors

Two Bulldogs earned SEC weekly honors as Guillermina Grant was named SEC Co-Player of the Week while Aysegul Mert picked up her second SEC Freshman of the Week Award of the season, the conference announced Wednesday afternoon.

Grant had a perfect weekend at the ITA Indoor Championships in Seattle, as the junior went 6-for-6 in matches over three days of competition for the Bulldogs. She won and finished three doubles matches and three singles matches, all without dropping a single set.

Grant was dominant through all six matches at the No. 5 and 6 spots, as she only gave up one game in two separate doubles matches while also keeping her opponents to three games or under in eight of nine sets played. Grant has now won three in a row and four of her last five in both singles and doubles action.

Mert’s impact in doubles play at the No. 1 spot has been influential for the Bulldogs early in 2024. Through three matches at the ITA Indoor Championships in Seattle, Mert was key alongside her partner Dasha Vidmanova in winning two doubles matches, including a dominant 6-1 ranked win against No. 24 Sydni Ratliff and Luciana Perry (Ohio State).

Against Texas A&M, Mert made a huge impact in keeping pace with the No. 3 ranked duo of Mary Stoiana and Mia Kupres (Texas A&M), as they held up a 4-4 score before the Bulldogs clinched the doubles point on courts two and three. Mert has also now won four of her last five doubles matches.

Georgia is now set to travel for a five-match road trip which will see them open up against in-state rivals No. 23 Georgia Tech on Sunday, Feb. 18 at noon ET in Atlanta.

Guillermina Grant

Singles Results

Guillermina Grant (UGA) def. Audrey Spencer (Ohio State) 6-2, 6-3

Guillermina Grant (UGA) def. Alicia Dudeney (Florida) 6-1, 6-1

Guillermina Grant (UGA) def. Daria Smetannikov (Texas A&M) 6-3, 6-3

Doubles Results

No. 32 Guillermina Grant/Mai Nirundorn (UGA) def. Audrey Spencer/Irina Cantos Siemers (Ohio State) 6-1

No. 32 Guillermina Grant/Mai Nirundorn (UGA) def. Qavia Lopez/Malwina Rowinska (Florida) 6-4

No. 32 Guillermina Grant/Mai Nirundorn (UGA) def. Nicole Khirin/Lucciana Perez (Texas A&M) 6-1

Aysegul Mert

Doubles Results

No. 31 Aysegul Mert/Dasha Vidmanova (UGA) def. No. 24 Sydni Ratliff/Luciana Perry (Ohio State) 6-1

No. 31 Aysegul Mert/Dasha Vidmanova (UGA) def. Alicia Dudeney/Bente Spee (Florida) 6-3

No. 31 Aysegul Mert/Dasha Vidmanova (UGA) vs No. 3 Mary Stoiana/Mia Kupres (Texas A&M) 4-4 unfinished

MGolf: Connor Creasy named Southeastern Conference Golfer of the Week

After leading Georgia to its first tournament win of the year, graduate Connor Creasy of the men’s golf team has earned his first career Southeastern Conference Golfer of the Week award, the league office announced on Wednesday afternoon.

Creasy becomes the first Bulldog to receive the recognition since Trent Phillips did so on March 23, 2022.

“Winning this award really means a lot,” Creasy said. “It was a super fun week for everyone. We played really well and had a great second round as a team. We started slowly in the third round but then all of our counting scores the last nine holes stepped up and we closed it out. It was a ton of fun. It was a great way to start the spring, but we’ve got to keep the pedal down, put one foot in front of the other and keep getting better.” 

The Abingdon, Va. native carded his second top-five finish at the Puerto Rico Classic after a 14-under, 202 total. This tied his career 54-hole low, finishing tied for third individually for a new career-best result. The Bulldogs finished with a 42-under-par, 822 total, beating out No. 13 Virginia by three strokes after it surged to second place from a 21-under round during round three.

Creasy ended the tournament with a 67, allowing him to post three consecutive rounds in the 60s and back-to-back sub-68 rounds for the first time in his collegiate career. He was one of seven players in the top-25 to shoot three-straight rounds under 70. In the third round, Creasy finished the back nine with his eighth collegiate eagle, four birdies and four pars. He was one of two players to record multiple eagles in the event, also recording one on day two. 

Georgia’s next tournament of the spring will begin in 12 days as the team travels to Las Vegas to compete in the Southern Highlands Collegiate. The event, hosted by UNLV and played at the Southern Highlands Golf Club, will be played on Feb. 25-27.

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