The fifth-seeded Georgia women’s tennis team is set to play host to North Florida, Wake Forest and Baylor for the opening two rounds of the NCAA Regional Tournament starting this afternoon at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Georgia’s first test will come against the North Florida Ospreys on Friday at 4 p.m. Should the Bulldogs advance, they will face the winner of Wake Forest and Baylor on Saturday at 4 p.m.
“We’re just keeping it about ourselves for this whole tournament,” said Georgia associate head coach Drake Bernstein. “We’ve been talking about competing against ourselves, being the best we can be every day and seeing where that takes us. The focus is no different going into the postseason.”
Georgia, which enters NCAA postseason play with a 20-4 record on the year, will be tested against the Atlantic Sun champion Ospreys on Friday. UNF enters the postseason unranked and with a 13-6 record. Wake Forest, ranked 26th, is 19-9 on the year and is led into postseason play by All-ACC second-teamer Kimmy Guerin. The 40th-ranked Baylor Bears are the only team in the Athens regional that have played Georgia in the postseason, with the Bulldogs emerging with a 5-0 win in 2001. Baylor is 17-14 this season with a 13-7 record in Big 12 play.
Georgia has won 10 of 11 home matches this season and has not lost to a team ranked outside of the top five at the time of the match. The Bulldogs bring with them three All-SEC honorees: Ellen Perez (first team), Caroline Brinson (second team) and Kennedy Shaffer (second team). Additionally, Georgia has four ranked singles players and two ranked doubles pairs.
“Everything we do throughout the season is to get ready for May and get ready for this tournament,” said sophomore Mariana Gould. “We’ve been working hard to show what we’ve got.”
Tickets are on sale via georgiadogs.com until Friday at 8 a.m. for $5 for adults, $3 for children/students and free for children 2 and under. All sales after that time will be done at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.