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Auburn
Georgia Tames Auburn, 4-1
March 13, 2016 | Women's Tennis
Georgia women's tennis beat No. 11 Auburn tigers, winning both the doubles and singles matches. We talked with coach Jeff Wallace and sophomore Ellen Perez.
ATHENS, Ga. -- Sophomore Kennedy Shaffer handed Auburn's Pleun Burgmans her first loss of the season to clinch Georgia's (10-1, 4-0) victory over No. 11 Auburn (15-3, 3-1) by a 4-1 score on Sunday afternoon at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Burgmans entered the afternoon with a 13-0 record on the year, but Shaffer dispatched the 46th-ranked player in straight sets. Ellen Perez also notched a high-profile win, besting reigning SEC Player of the Week Andie Dikosavljevic 6-3, 6-4 on the top singles court. Roswell, Georgia native Laura Patterson won her fifth consecutive match, a 6-2, 6-4 tally on the No. 6 court.
"First off I'd like to say I really liked our crowd today," said Georgia head coach Jeff Wallace about the 342 fans in attendance. "Our crowds this weekend did a great job getting us through some close matches. I really liked the doubles point today because it came down to the very end, the last court. As I was telling our team, that's what tournament play is going to be like at the end of the year - a hard-fought doubles point that we found a way to get."
After doubles got off to a shaky start with a 6-2 loss on the first court, the Bulldogs responded with two victories to take the point. The duo of Shaffer and Patterson turned the tide with a 6-3 win on the third court, and Caroline Brinson and Silvia Garcia got the clincher with a 6-4 win on court two.
Perez got the ball rolling in singles, taking a 6-3, 6-4 decision over Dikosavljevic to give Georgia a 2-0 lead in the match. Auburn won the next point with a 6-3, 6-3 victory on the two court to draw within 2-1 in the match score.
The Bulldogs then struck quickly to end the contest as winners two minutes apart came from Patterson and Shaffer to clinch the match. Patterson, who breezed through the first set 6-2, came from behind in the second to take her match 6-4. Shaffer then finished off Burgmans moments later, handing the Netherlands native her first loss of the season 6-4, 6-3.
The Bulldogs return to the match court on Thursday as they step out of conference play and take on No. 10 Virginia at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex at 1 p.m.
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.
Results
No. 3 Georgia 4, No. 11 Auburn 1
Doubles
1. Michaud/Burgmans (AU) def. #28 Perez/Gould (UGA), 6-2
2. #71 Garcia/Brinson (UGA) def. Dikosavljevic/de Man (AU), 6-4
3. Shaffer/Patterson (UGA) def. Griffin/Turner (AU), 6-3
Singles
1. #10 Ellen Perez (UGA) def. #21 Andie Dikosavljevic (AU), 6-3, 6-4
2. #76 Alizee Michaud (AU) def. #22 Caroline Brinson (UGA), 6-3, 6-3
3. #78 Kennedy Shaffer (UGA) def. #46 Pleun Burgmans (AU) 6-4, 6-3
4. #75 Silvia Garcia (UGA) vs. Alannah Griffin (AU), 7-5, 4-3, unfinished
5. Mariana Gould (UGA) vs. Paula de Man (AU), 5-7, 4-2, unfinished
6. Laura Patterson (UGA) def. Caroline Turner (AU), 6-2, 6-4
Georgia (10-1, 3-0), Auburn (15-3, 3-1)
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (1,2,6,3)
Players Mentioned
