Mariana Gould makes a save as Ellen Perez looks on during the Bulldog Tennis Classic at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex Friday, Oct. 10, 2014 in Athens, GA.
(Photo by John Kelley)
[su_spacer size=”20″] The women’s dominating performance started on Saturday with a 4-0 victory over the 74th ranked Wyoming Cowboys on Friday during the first round of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend tournament. Results and notes from Friday’s competition can be found here:
[su_spacer size=”40″] WOMEN’S TENNIS: Georgia Skunks Wyoming and Advances to ITA Kick-off Finals – Bulldawg Illustrated
[su_spacer size=”40″] “We’ve had good practices leading up to this,” said Georgia head coach Jeff Wallace. “They’ve been working really hard. That’s why you do it, so you get out on the competition court and shine. It’s great to get through and get the W. Now we’re on to the round of 16 at the (ITA) Indoors. Madison (Wisc.) is a great place, and we’ve had a lot of success there. We’re excited to be back.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] The Bulldogs claimed the doubles point, scoring victories from the pairs of Kennedy Shaffer/Laura Patterson, 6-2, and No. 14 Ellen Perez/Mariana Gould, 6-3. The final doubles match, played on court two with Caroline Brinson and Silvia Garcia, went unfinished at 4-4.
[su_spacer size=”40″] A dominant start in the singles portion, three of the first four Buldogs took the first set of their respective matches. Perez was first among them, winning the first five games en route to a 6-1 first set win and 6-1, 6-0 match score. Perez’s win pushed Georgia to a 2-0 lead as a team.
[su_spacer size=”40″] “We all started really well on each court,” said Perez. “We got the early leads and just carried that moving forward.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] Shaffer and Garcia followed closely behind, nothing 6-2 and 6-1 first-set scores, respectively. Each player dropped the second set, but Shaffer rallied in the third to claim a 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 win and move Georgia to a 3-0 advantage for the day. Garcia had several cracks at match point, but her contest went unfinished.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Despite waiting for the finish of Perez’s match to get hers underway, Gould made quick work of her opponent with a 6-2, 6-0 victory to clinch the sweep for the Bulldogs. It was Gould’s third clincher at Georgia.
[su_spacer size=”40″] The Bulldogs will return to action next Saturday (Jan. 30) against Clemson at 4 p.m. For all the latest on Georgia women’s tennis, follow the team on Twitter (@UGAWomensTennis), Instagram (@ugawomenstennis), and Facebook and keep checking in to georgiadogs.com.
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ITA Kick-Off Weekend Sunday Results
[su_spacer size=”20″]No. 4 Georgia – 4 over No. 57 Old Dominion – 0
[su_spacer size=”20″] Singles[su_spacer size=”20″] 1. #12 Ellen Perez (UGA) def. Nikol Hristova (ODU) 6-1, 6-0
2. #22 Caroline Brinson (UGA) vs. Nataliya Vlasova (ODU) 4-6, 6-1, 5-3, unfinished
3. #82 Silvia Garcia (UGA) vs. Ingrid Vojcinakova (ODU) 6-1, 1-6, 5-6, unfinished
4. #109 Kennedy Shaffer (UGA) def. Adriana Rajkovic (ODU) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
5. Mariana Gould (UGA) def. Marijana Novakovic (ODU) 6-2, 6-0
6. Laura Patterson (UGA) vs. Ivana Vukovic (ODU) 1-0, unfinished
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[su_spacer size=”20″] Doubles competition
[su_spacer size=”20″] 1. #14 Ellen Perez/Mariana Gould (UGA) def. Nikol Hristova/Marijana Novakovic (ODU) 6-3
2. Silvia Garcia/Caroline Brinson (UGA) vs. Nataliya Vlasova/Adriana Rajkovic (ODU) 4-4, unfinished
3. Kennedy Shaffer/Laura Patterson (UGA) def. Ivana Vukovic/Ingrid Vojcinakova (ODU) 6-2
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[su_spacer size=”20″] Next up, the Georgia women will take on 20th ranked Clemson in Athens, GA on January 30th with the first match scheduled for 4 PM ET.
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For more information on the Georgia Women’s Tennis team, follow the team on:
[su_spacer size=”20″]Twitter: @UGAWomensTennis
[su_spacer size=”20″]Instagram: @ugawomenstennis
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