The Georgia women’s tennis team (22-5) saw its season come to an end as the 12th-ranked Oklahoma State Cowgirls (27-4) upset the No. 5 Bulldogs by a 4-0 tally late Thursday night at the Michael Case Tennis Center in Tulsa.
Play carried into the wee hours of Friday morning as the Bulldogs’ sixth consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships ended against the Cowgirls. This season represented 30-straight years in the NCAA Tournament for Georgia.
“First thing you’ve got to do is tip your hat to Oklahoma State,” said Georgia head coach Jeff Wallace. “They played a great match against us. We had our moments, we had opportunities, and for the most part this year we’ve stepped up in those moments and played great tennis. Tonight it just really wasn’t there for us.”
The match was the final contest for Silvia Garcia, the team’s lone senior, who ends her Georgia career with 99 singles wins and 98 doubles victories. The Madrid, Spain native wrapped up an impressive career with an 8-8 record in dual play this spring.
Oklahoma State jumped on top by taking the doubles point with wins on courts three and two. Ellen Perez and Mariana Gould claimed the only doubles win for the Bulldogs, earning a 6-4 win on the top court. Garcia and Kennedy Shaffer displayed a valiant effort on the second court where the point was clinched, but they fell in a tight 6-4 affair as the comeback attempt fell short.
The Cowgirls’ lead grew to 2-0 with a straight-sets win on the third singles court as 66th-ranked Viktoriya Lushkova defeated Silvia Garcia 6-1, 6-2, and Oklahoma State then added on with a big win on the top court as Katarina Adamovic defeated Perez in a tight battle, 7-5, 7-6.
The Cowgirls clinched the match with a win on the second court as Vladica Babic came from behind to knock off Kennedy Shaffer in three sets – 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.