WOMEN’S TENNIS: Bulldogs Primed for SEC Tournament

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WOMEN’S TENNIS: Bulldogs Primed for SEC Tournament

Elena Christofi - UGA women's tennis team (Photo by Steven Colquitt / Georgia Sports Communication)
Elena Christofi
UGA women’s tennis team
(Photo by Steven Colquitt / Georgia Sports Communication)

 
 
The No. 4 Georgia women’s tennis team will seek the school’s eighth conference Title when they compete in the SEC Tournament this Friday at 1:00 p.m. ET at the Currey Tennis Center in Nashville, TN.

 
 
The Bulldogs earned the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye after finishing runner-up in regular-season play. Georgia will play its first match on Friday at 1 p.m. ET against the winner of Thursday’s match between 10th-seed Auburn and seventh-seed Arkansas.
 
 
A balanced and deep Bulldogs team enters the tournament as Georgia holds the best singles records in conference play on two courts (No. 2 and 3), while two other courts (No. 4 and 6) are tied for second. The depth extends to the doubles lineup with Georgia’s No. 2 and No. 3 pairs tied for first and second, respectively, for the conference’s best records. Meanwhile, on the top doubles court, senior Caroline Brinson and junior Ellen Perez jumped up to No. 4 in the ITA doubles rankings due to a four-match win streak highlighted by a top-5 ranked win.
 
 
Elena Christofi, the No. 2 singles player, flaunts a team-high 28 wins and her No. 14 ITA singles rankings is the fourth highest in the nation among freshman. Junior Kennedy Shaffer, ranked 61st, concluded SEC play with an unblemished 9-0 singles mark, playing at No. 3. Together, Christofi and Shaffer form the 34th-ranked doubles squad on the No. 2 doubles court. During Georgia’s 11-match doubles point win streak, Christofi/Shaffer won seven-straight matches including six clinchers.
 
 
Prior to Christofi and Shaffer in the top singles spot is Perez, ranked No. 21. The Australian native ended the regular season on a 3-1 run including a win over a top-20 opponent.
 
 
Georgia’s vocal leader and sole senior, Brinson, capped conference play with four wins in a row, all match clinchers. The New Orleans native occupies court No. 4 and is ranked 63rd in the ITA singles rankings.
 
 
Freshman Marta Gonzalez and junior Mariana Gould anchor the group on the last two singles courts in addition to the doubles roster.
 
 
The Bulldogs aim for the program’s eighth SEC Tournament Title with the last one coming in 2014, Brinson’s freshman year. Georgia has been to the Championship match in each of the past five years.
 
 
CLICK HERE for the SEC Tournament Headquarters.
 
 
For the 2017 SEC Women’s Tennis Tournament notes, CLICK HERE.
 
 
 
 

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