The No. 3-ranked Georgia women’s tennis team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after defeating Austin Peay, 4-0, Friday afternoon at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Georgia will face off against Wake Forest on Saturday, with first serve slated for 4 p.m. The Demon Deacons defeated Furman 4-2 in the first match of the day. Georgia leads the all-time series against the Demon Deacons 8-3. The two squads last faced off in 2019 — a 4-0 Bulldog win.
In doubles, the duo of Elena Christofi and Morgan Coppoc blanked Jana Leder and Aleks Topalovic 6-0 on court two. Ania Hertel and Alee Clayton, playing together for the first time this season in dual match play, took down Honoka Nakanishi and Ana Albertson on court three 6-2 to clinch the doubles point.
The Bulldogs continued the momentum, dominating singles play by taking the first set on every single court. No. 68 Coppoc continued her hot streak, sweeping Topalovic 6-0, 6-0 on court four. No. 4 Jokic stayed perfected in dual match play at 16-0 after beating Febienne Schmidt 6-0, 6-2 on court one. The match was clinched by Elena Christofi 6-0, 6-2 over Honoka Nakanishi.
RESULTS
#3 Georgia 4, Austin Peay 0
Doubles
1. #6 Katarina Jokic/Ariana Arseneault (UGA) vs. SCHMIDT, Fabienne/MORRIS, Danielle (APSU) 4-3, unfinished
2. Morgan Coppoc/Elena Christofi (UGA) def. LEDER, Jana/TOPALOVIC, Aleks (APSU) 6-0
3. Alee Clayton/Ania Hertel (UGA) def. NAKANISHI, Honoka/ALBERTSON, Ana (APSU) 6-2
Singles
1. #4 Katarina Jokic (UGA) def. SCHMIDT, Fabienne (APSU) 6-0, 6-2
2. #55 Lea Ma (UGA) vs. MORRIS, Danielle (APSU) 6-4, 4-2, unfinished
3. #20 Meg Kowalski (UGA) vs. LEDER, Jana (APSU) 6-2, 3-2, unfinished
4. #68 Morgan Coppoc (UGA) def. TOPALOVIC, Aleks (APSU) 6-0, 6-0
5. #52 Marta Gonzalez (UGA) vs. PALADINI-JENNINGS, M (APSU) 6-1, 5-0, unfinished
6. Elena Christofi (UGA) def. NAKANISHI, Honoka (APSU) 6-0, 6-2
Match Notes:
Austin Peay 12-3
Georgia 20-1; National ranking #3
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (4,1,6)
NCAA Tournament round one played in Athens, Ga.
QUOTES
Georgia Head Coach Jeff Wallace
On his team’s play today…
“Very windy, that is for certain. That was probably our windiest match the whole year, which is not a bad thing. We have some players that like the wind better. I am always confident in (Lea) Ma. She loves the wind, so although she didn’t finish, I was feeling highly confident. It was really good, was feeling confident today- we put in a new No. 3 doubles team and they did great. That was kind of a highlight for us. I thought all of our players were playing well and overcoming that wind. It could get windy down the road, so it is fine to get some action in that. Overall, it was good day.”
On if anyone’s performance stuck out to him today..
“I mean Kat (Katarina Jokic) looked good on the number one spot. She played really solid. Then at five and six our two fifth-year seniors were battling it out to see who could clinch the match there. They both had match-point at the same time and it looked like EC (Elena Christofi) kind of swooped her there and got it done.”
Georgia Senior Morgan Coppoc
On today’s match …
“Starting with doubles it was just fun to be out there with Elena. It’s their last two matches at home for their career so I was just focused on having fun out there today. I was just trying to embrace that and not get too upset because that trickles into the next point and that leads to a game.”
On how today’s first win helps build confidence going into the rest of the tournament…
“I think it puts us off to a great start with a 4-0 win in the Round of 64. We are looking forward to playing Wake Forest tomorrow. We are just excited. We are one step closer to our goal we’ve been chasing after since we stepped on campus.”