WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The seventh-seeded Georgia women’s tennis team will face No. 15-seed Stanford Saturday at 12 p.m. E.T. in the quarterfinals of the 2018 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex.
The Bulldogs (18-6) enter the Elite Eight fresh off of a thrilling 4-3 win over No. 10 South Carolina, while the Cardinal (21-3) arrive after upsetting No. 2-seed North Carolina, 4-1. Both teams dropped their doubles point, using four singles wins to advance. Georgia vies for its first Final Four appearance since 2015, whereas Stanford has done so in the past two seasons including winning the 2016 NCAA Title.
Coincidentally, the last four times the two programs have met has been at this same stage of the NCAA Championships. Georgia won the latest meeting, 4-1, in 2015 on the campus of Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Four current student-athletes were present in the 2015 affair including Stanford’s Paulette Wolak and Georgia’s Laura Patterson, Mariana Gould and Kennedy Shaffer. Then a freshman, Shaffer, hit a forehand winner to clinch the match.
Highlighting Saturday’s quarterfinals bout is the No. 1 singles court consisting of the nation’s two highest-ranked freshmen, Georgia’s Katarina Jokic, No. 12 in ITA Singles, and Stanford’s Michaela Gordon who trails just three spots at No. 15. Prior to that, the No. 1 doubles court consists of a battle of top-10 pairs with No. 10 Elena Christofi/Morgan Coppoc of Georgia against No. 3 Emily Arbuthnott/Gordon of Stanford.
The strength of the Cardinal team resides in singles with the entirety of their lineup receiving an ITA Singles Ranking. Meanwhile, the doubles edge sides with the Bulldogs, showcasing two ranked pairs inside the top-30.
“We played first this year, so we have today off, which is nice to have plenty of time to do ice baths, hydration, food and rest,” Georgia head coach Jeff Wallace said. “Then we will get ready to compete again. I believe the team is playing their best tennis right now. We’ve talked all year about peaking at the right time, and these last two matches have been complete matches from top-to-bottom.”
All event information including schedule, tickets, parking, live scoring, brackets, and more are found on the tournament site (http://gado.gs/90o).
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 georgiadogs.com.