The No. 3 Georgia women’s tennis team advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament after defeating No. 13 Virginia 4-1 Sunday morning to improve to 23-1 on the season.
SEC Newcomer of the Year Lea Ma sealed the win for the Bulldogs in a third set tiebreaker, upsetting No. 9 Natasha Subhash 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) on court two. This is the first top-10 win for No. 55 Ma in her career and is 1-1 on the season against top-10 foes this season.
No. 20 Meg Kowalski led the way for the Bulldogs, making quick work of No. 90 Rosie Johnson on court three. No. 52 Marta Gonzalez picked up her second straight win, defeating Amber O’Dell 7-6(4), 6-3 on court five, opening the gate for Ma to clinch the match. No. 68 Morgan Coppoc fell in three sets to Hibah Shaikh on court four. No. 4 Katarina Jokic and Elena Christofi went unfinished in their matches.
In doubles, the Bulldogs took the doubles point with No. 6 Jokic and Ariana Arseneault defeating No. 21 Johnson and Emma Navarro 6-4, clinching the doubles point for the Dawgs. Christofi and Coppoc breezed through their match, upsetting No. 17 Sofia Munera and Subhash 6-2 on court two. Ma and Kowalski were defeated by Vivian Glozman and Shaikh 6-2 on court three.
Georgia will take on No. 6 NC State in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, May 19 with match time to be determined.
Results:
Doubles:
1. #6 Katarina Jokic/Ariana Arseneault (UGA) def. #21 Rosie Johanson/Emma Navarro (VA) 6-4
2. Elena Christofi/Morgan Coppoc (UGA) def. #17 Sofia Munera/Natasha Subhash (VA) 6-2
3. Vivian Glozman/Hibah Shaikh (VA) def. Lea Ma/Meg Kowalski (UGA) 6-2
Singles:
1. #4 Katarina Jokic (UGA) vs. #3 Emma Navarro (VA) 6-4, 5-7, 5-3, unfinished
2. #55 Lea Ma (UGA) def. #9 Natasha Subhash (VA) 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)
3. #20 Meg Kowalski (UGA) def. #90 Rosie Johanson (VA) 6-3, 6-3
4. Hibah Shaikh (VA) def. #68 Morgan Coppoc (UGA) 6-4, 0-6, 6-2
5. #52 Marta Gonzalez (UGA) def. Amber O’Dell (VA) 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
6. Elena Christofi (UGA) vs. Sofia Munera (VA) 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 5-4, unfinished