University of Georgia Athletics
Georgia Starts SEC Road Schedule
March 09, 2017 | Women's Tennis
Alabama Live Stats: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=alab&sport=daktennis
Auburn Live Stats: Match notes:
ATHENS, Ga. --- The Georgia women's tennis team embarks on its first Southeastern Conference road trip of the season with this weekend's matches at Alabama and Auburn. The Bulldogs (7-3, 1-1 SEC), No. 13 in ITA rankings, face the Crimson Tide at 7 p.m. Friday, and then Georgia takes on the fourth-ranked Tigers at 2 p.m. Sunday.
"The team is excited to just get back on the courts," Georgia head coach Jeff Wallace said. "We have a great swing this weekend at Alabama and Auburn and we are just fired up to get out there in our first match. Right now we are just thinking Alabama because that is the first one but soon after that we will be focusing on Auburn who has a great team and is having a great year. It will be a challenge and we are looking forward to it."
To open conference play this past weekend the Bulldogs defeated No. 30 Kentucky 4-1 before falling to No. 14 Vanderbilt 4-2. Both opponents advanced in this week's ITA rankings as the Wildcats jumped to 20th and the Commodores moved up to the No. 5 spot. Junior Kennedy Shaffer, ranked 63rd, won both of her matches to improve to 15-5 overall and remain undefeated at 4-0 on the No. 3 singles court. In doubles, junior Mariana Gould and Marta Gonzalez continued to be consistent as they went 2-0. The duo showcases a 10-2 record overall and a 6-1 slate while anchoring Georgia on the last doubles court.
Alabama (6-6, 0-2) is led by senior First Team All-SEC player Erin Routliffe, No. 59, and reigning SEC Freshman of the Year Andie Daniell. On the second singles court, Daniell (#124) sports an 8-0 record, while overall she is 11-2. The Crimson Tide's top doubles tandem is Routliffe and freshman Maddie Pothoff who are ranked 25th and are 7-1 in dual season. All six of Alabama's losses have been from teams ranked in the top-25 at some point this season.
Sunday's matchup against Auburn (17-1, 1-0) will serve as the third time Georgia has faced a team ranked in the top-5 this season. Returning First Team All-SEC honorees Alizee Michaud and Andie Dikosavljevic are Auburn's highest-ranked singles players at No. 29 and No. 71, respectively. Michaud flaunts a 25-5 record with seven wins over ranked opponents. Playing in between Michaud and Dikosavljevic at No. 2 is freshman Taylor Russo (#102) with a perfect 11-0 record in duals. All three of Auburn's doubles teams cracked ITA's rankings with Michaud and Russo heading the Tigers on the first court with a 16-4 overall record and a No. 8 ranking.
Live scoring will be available through the links at the top of the page. Be sure and follow the Bulldogs on Twitter (@UGAWomensTennis). The match recap will be available at georgiadogs.com.
