The third-ranked Georgia women’s tennis team (13-2, 6-1) saw its eight-match win streak come to an end with a 4-3 loss to No. 5 Vanderbilt (12-4, 5-2) at the Currey Tennis Center on Saturday afternoon.
A rematch of last season’s SEC Championship match, Georgia fell by an identical 4-3 final score in the second leg. In singles, Georgia picked up two ranked victories with Ellen Perez defeating 25th-ranked Sydney Campbell on the first court and Kennedy Shaffer scoring an upset win over No. 21 Astra Sharma on court two. The victory for Vanderbilt was the Commodores’ 30th-consecutive win in Nashville.
The duo of Perez and Mariana Gould finished first in doubles, winning on the first court 6-4 over the 58th-ranked pair of Courtney Colton and Astra Sharma. The Commodores then got a 6-4 win on the second court to force a third-court finish, which came down to a tie break. Vanderbilt came out on top, taking the doubles point with a 7-6 win on the No. 3 court.
Vanderbilt extended its lead with a win on the sixth court as Fernanda Contreras defeated Hannah King 6-1, 6-2 to give the home team a 2-0 edge.
Mariana Gould put the Bulldogs on the board with a 7-5, 6-2 win on court No. 5, bringing Georgia to within 2-1, but Caroline Brinson fell on court three moments later to No. 17 Frances Altick, giving Vanderbilt a two-point lead once again. Colton then clinched the match for the Commodores, sealing the win for Vanderbilt with a 7-5, 6-4 win on the fourth court over Silvia Garcia.
Shaffer and Perez then closed out the afternoon with their singles wins to wrap the action in Nashville.
The Bulldogs will return home to face Arkansas and Missouri next week, with the matches scheduled for Thursday and Saturday.
For all the latest on Georgia women’s tennis, follow the team on Twitter (@UGAWomensTennis), Instagram (@ugawomenstennis) and on Facebook (Georgia Women’s Tennis), and keep checking in to georgiadogs.com.
MATCH RESULTS
Vanderbilt defeats Georgia (4-3)
Order of Finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (6,5,3,4,2,1)
Singles
1. #7 Ellen Perez (UGA) def. #25 Sydney Campbell (VU), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
2. #56 Kennedy Shaffer (UGA) def. #21 Astra Sharma (VU), 6-3, 4-6, 1-0(10-2)
3. #17 Frances Altick (VU) def. #27 Caroline Brinson (UGA), 6-3, 6-4
4. Courtney Colton (VU) def. #79 Silvia Garcia (UGA), 7-5, 6-4
5. Mariana Gould (UGA) def. Goergina Sellyn (VU), 7-5, 6-2
6. Fernanda Contreras (VU) def. Hannah King (UGA), 6-1, 6-2
Doubles
1. #25 Perez/Gould (UGA) def. #58 Colton/Sharma (VU), 6-4
2. Altick/Campbell (VU) def. Garcia/Brinson (UGA), 6-4
3. Sellyn/Contreras (VU) def. Shaffer/Patterson (UGA), 7-6(7-3)