(Photo by John Kelley)
[su_spacer size=”40″] The singles tournament setup consists of a pre-qualifying round of 62 players, followed by a qualifying round with a pre-set field of 55 and finally the main draw already consisting of 23.
[su_spacer size=”40″] The doubles side consists of the same three rounds, with pre-qualifying having 28 duos, qualifying with a pre-set field of 27 pairs and the main draw of 19.
[su_spacer size=”40″] “One thing I really want to see is us being mentally tough and engaged, controlling everything we’re able to control and not worrying about the other things,” said Head Coach Jeff Wallace. “We need to just stay competitive regardless of the circumstances. I think our players are ready for that level of competition and it should be a great event.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] The team will not see its first action until Oct. 5 when the qualifying round begins.
[su_spacer size=”40″] The Bulldogs are coming off a strong weekend in which they won the majority of matches during a round robin tournament in Puerto Rico, besting players from Illinois, Mercer and Miami. The action was highlighted by Ellen Perez, ranked No. 29, upsetting Miami’s Stephanie Wagner, who entered competition ranked No. 6 nationally.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Six players are in the singles and doubles draws for the upcoming tournament. Currently, Perez is an alternate for the main draw but will compete in qualifying if necessary.
[su_spacer size=”40″] The remaining Bulldogs in the qualifying draw include sophomores Mariana Gould (No. 88), Hannah King (No. 55), and Kennedy Shaffer (No. 37) as well as junior Caroline Brinson (No. 72) and senior Silvia Garcia (No. 58) for the qualifying round that begins on Oct. 5.
[su_spacer size=”40″] In doubles, Georgia has two teams in the main draw and one in qualifying. The Garcia-Shaffer pair, which is ranked 16th and won 17 matches in 2015, is in the main draw along with the tandem of Perez-Gould (No. 20). Brinson-King, ranked 51st, will start in the qualifying draw.
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