The fifth-ranked UGA women’s tennis team (22-4) clinched a berth to Tulsa, Oklahoma and the NCAA Championships with a 4-0 win over No. 40 Baylor (18-15) on Saturday evening at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
This will be Georgia’s sixth consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships, advancing past regional play each season since 2010. The Bulldogs finish the season 12-1 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex after Silvia Garcia’s dramatic victory on the third singles court, the 99th of her singles career.
“We had a nice crowd, they did a great job for us today,” said Georgia head coach Jeff Wallace. “I thought it was really cool that Silvia Garcia got the last point – her senior year, her last match on these courts to get that point for her 99th career win. One thing I want to say was Baylor really fought hard through the very end. You look at the scoreboard and see 4-0 but we all know how close that match really was.”
The Bulldogs took the doubles point with wins on courts two and three to claim an early 1-0 lead. The 81st-ranked pairing of Garcia and Kennedy Shaffer won the first match, 6-3, and just moments later Caroline Brinson and Laura Patterson also won 6-3 to seal the point and give Georgia the edge over Baylor.
Mariana Gould added to the lead in dominant fashion with a 6-2, 6-3 win on the fifth court for her second victory of the regional. Brinson then pushed the Bulldogs to the brink of victory with a win on the four court, a straight-sets 6-1, 6-3 decision.
Garcia then closed the show with her 6-2, 7-6 win on the third court to seal Georgia’s place at the NCAA Tennis Championships.
The Bulldogs return to the competition courts on Thursday night, though the opponent has yet to be determined.
For all the latest on Georgia women’s tennis, follow the team on Twitter (@UGAWomensTennis), Instagram (@ugawomenstennis) and on Facebook (Georgia Women’s Tennis), and keep checking in to georgiadogs.com.
Full Results
No. 5 Georgia 4, No. 40 Baylor 0
NCAA WOMEN’S TENNIS TOURNAMENT
REGIONALS – ROUND 2 – RESULTS
Dan Magill Tennis Complex
Athens, GA
No. 5 Georgia defeats Baylor (4-0)
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (5,4,3)
Doubles
1. #10 Perez/Gould (UGA) vs. Generette/Shankle (BU), 4-4, unfinished
2. #81 Garcia/Shaffer (UGA) def. Newborn/Traxler (BU), 6-3
3. Brinson/Patterson (UGA) def. Van Zyl/Profit (BU), 6-3
Singles
1. #5 Ellen Perez (UGA) vs. #91 Blair Shankle (BU), 6-3, 6-7(4-7), 1-1, unfinished
2. #28 Kennedy Shaffer (UGA) vs. Kiah Generette (BU), 7-5, 4-5, unfinished
3. #116 Silvia Garcia (UGA) def. Rhiann Newborn (BU) 6-2, 7-6(7-2)
4. #30 Caroline Brinson (UGA) def. Karina Traxler (BU), 6-1, 6-3
5. Mariana Gould (UGA) def. Elizabeth Profit (BU), 6-2, 6-3
6. Laura Patterson (UGA) vs. Theresa Van Zyl (BU), 6-3, 5-6, unfinished
CLICK HERE
FOR MORE
STATS & INFO