University of Georgia Athletics
Bulldogs Freshmen Far From Rookies
May 10, 2015 | Women's Tennis
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
ATHENS, Ga. -- Ellen Perez, Kennedy Shaffer and Hannah King are part of the Georgia women's tennis team's five-player freshmen class. They may still be first-year players for the Bulldogs, but they're certainly not rookies.
"I guess now that finals are done maybe they're `freshmores,'" Bulldogs coach Jeff Wallace said after the sixth-seeded Bulldogs' 4-0 win over Duke on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Shaffer and Perez were part of the two wins to secure the doubles point and claimed two of Georgia's three singles victories to earn a spot in the round of 16 next week in Waco, Texas. Georgia (22-6) will face No. 11 seed Michigan (22-3) on Friday at Baylor.
"It's great that there's five freshmen," Shaffer said. "People look at it like it could either be a downfall or it can be something that you build on. For us, it's something that we can build on because we're a class that has the experience in the juniors and also we're a group that can grow together through the years.
"We have four seasons to play together and I think it gives us the potential to achieve our goal, which is a championship."
After winning the doubles point and getting a quick win at No. 6 singles from sophomore Caroline Brinson, Georgia needed two wins to advance. Shaffer and Perez delivered.
Playing at No. 4 singles against Duke's Rachel Kahan, Shaffer started strong and took the opening set 6-1. She then broke Kahan's serve to start the second set. After that, things went awry for a while.
Kahan won the next four games, the last ending with a call that Shaffer strongly disagreed with. Upset as she walked to her bench for the changeover between games, Shaffer used the short break to talk with assistant coach Drake Bernstein and put the previous four games behind her.
"At that point I knew my match would be important to the team, so I needed to get it together," Shaffer said. "It's not OK to act like that or let things frustrate you like that; you don't have time for it. I knew it was time to actually focus and do what I was supposed to do."
Shaffer said she has more than a little experience "in getting it together after sliding off a really steep slope," which she proved during the next 20 minutes or so. She held serve in the next game at love to start a run of five straight games to win the match, 6-1, 6-4, and put the Bulldogs in front 3-0.
While King was in a tight match with Duke's Chalena Scholl at No. 5 singles (Scholl won the first set in a tiebreaker), Georgia players were in control on the top three courts at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. Senior Lauren Herring at No. 1, Perez at No. 2 and junior Silvia Garcia at No. 3, had all won the first set in their matches, and Herring and Perez were also up a break.
Perez moved in front 4-2 in the second set when Ester Goldfeld double-faulted on break point. Perez, the big-hitting Australian, served for the match at 5-3. At 30-15 she hit an improbable crosscourt backhand winner while falling down to give her two match points. She only needed one as Goldfeld missed a shot wide to give Perez a 6-4, 6-3 win and clinch the Georgia victory.
"I thought I played really well and I fought really hard," Perez said. "The times I was down, I thought I bounced back really well and competed. It just feels good to actually get the match complete."
The three freshmen in the singles lineup Sunday now have a combined dual match record of 46-17.
"They've learned a lot this year, they've been through a lot this year and now they're applying all the lessons and everything they've been able to learn," Wallace said.
And the NCAAs is the perfect time to do so.
John Frierson is a staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Hall of Fame at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. You can follow him on Twitter: @TheFrierson and @ITAHallofFame.
