A Bulldog sweep of the Pennsylvania Quakers at the Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Courts on Saturday afternoon sealed the Georgia women’s team’s return to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in February.

 

With two wins this weekend against Michigan State and Penn, Georgia improves to 18-0 during the ITA Kick-Off Weekend in Athens. The championships will be held in Madison, Wisconsin, beginning on Feb. 9.

“I’m really excited for this group,” Georgia head coach Jeff Wallace said. “It’s a great trip out to Madison, Wisconsin. It’s a great college town, almost as nice as Athens. They have a neat 12-court indoor facility and we’ve had a lot of success there in the past so I’m excited this group gets to experience it.”

Georgia opened the match with two quick doubles wins, securing the first point of the match. On the second doubles court, freshman Annette Goulak and senior Kennedy Shaffer cruised to a 6-1 victory, followed by a familiar 6-1 final from senior Mariana Gould and freshman Katarina Jokic on the third.

After sealing the doubles point, No. 12 Jokic notched the first singles victory for the Bulldogs with a 6-1, 6-1 performance against Penn’s No. 121 Lina Qostal on court one. Shaffer followed on the second, easing by Penn’s Marija Curnic in similar fashion, 6-1, 6-1. On the third court, No. 51 sophomore Marta Gonzalez closed out the ITA Kick-Off Weekend with a 6-1, 6-3 win. In the second set, Gonzalez came back from a 2-1 deficit to top Ashley Zhu 6-3.

“I thought that everyone was playing good tennis,” Wallace said. “Marta was playing a great player and played at a really high level all the way through. But I do think it’s always a team effort. I think Katarina played well on the first court and it got close in the second but she got through and rolled.”

In the consolation match on Saturday morning, Michigan State defeated Furman 4-0.

Before the Indoor Championships, Georgia plays host to Clemson on Saturday, February 3 at 4 p.m. at the Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Courts.