The No. 1-ranked Georgia women’s tennis team stretched its win streak to 16 matches for the first time in 10 years with its 4-0 win over No. 39 Alabama Friday evening at the Alabama Tennis Stadium.
The Bulldogs improved to 16-0 overall and 8-0 in the Southeastern Conference. The last time Georgia had that many consecutive wins was in 2009 (3/15-5/18) – a SEC regular season and Tournament champion year. With the loss, No. 39 Alabama Crimson Tide dropped to 14-8 overall and 3-5 in the SEC.
Georgia obtained the doubles point for the 11th time this season, including seven in conference. After going up 1-0, five Georgia first sets put the Bulldogs in the driver’s seat on the road to victory. Sophomore Vivian Wolff, junior Marta Gonzalez and freshman Meg Kowalski pulled out singles wins to secure victory lane.
“I think it was our best doubles point collectively this year among all three courts,” Georgia head coach Jeff Wallace said. “We’ve had a lot of good doubles points, obviously, but that has to be the best performance.”
The doubles results played out exactly like last match for the Bulldogs. First, junior Elena Christofi and Wolff decisively dispatched Alabama’s duo of Ann Selim and Kimberley Gintrand, 6-1, on court two. The Georgia duo improved to a team-best 9-0 record in as many matches, while the Crimson Tide’s best tandem fell to 16-5 overall. After the Georgia tandem had its serve broken yielding a game at 3-1, the Bulldogs tightened back up and won three games in a row to seal the victory.
Next on court one, freshman Lourdes Carle and sophomore Katarina Jokic notched the clinch after Jokic rifled a return shot off an Alabama serve to its front player who’s return attempt landed in the net. The Georgia duo defeated Crimson Tide’s senior-junior team of Andie Daniell and Alba Cortina-Pou, 6-2.
At the time of clinch, Gonzalez and Kowalski were up 5-2 on court three. Alabama moves to 12-for-22 (2-8 SEC) in the doubles category.
Foreshadowing the first set in singles, Georgia went up 1-0 in five of the six courts. Wolff, ranked No. 34 in ITA singles, was the first to finish, racing past junior Jacqueline Pelletier, 6-2, 6-0, on court four. The win marked the 10th in a row for the Frankfurt, Germany native that owns a team-best record of 22-3.
“Vivian [Wolff] looked great out here, and got off the court quick,” Wallace added. “There were great matches all around though. I think Marta [Gonzalez] played one of her best matches this season, which is good for her and us.”
The next two courts finished almost simultaneously, but it was Gonzalez who made it 3-0, and Kowalski got the clinch. Gonzalez, ranked No. 20, defeated sophomore Moka Ito, 6-3, 6-2, on court two. She hit the 21-win mark in singles, which tied a career-high set last season. Over on court six, Kowalski, ranked No. 103, finished off junior Ann Selim, 6-1, 6-3, for her fifth clinch of the season. Even more so, Kowalski upped her unblemished record to 16-0 with six conference wins.
“All-in-all, it was a great day for us, and we just have to keep it going,” Wallace finished with. “We need to get some rest, regroup and be ready for Auburn.”
Georgia continues its road trip action with a match on Sunday at 1 p.m. against No. 49 Auburn.