University of Georgia Athletics
Sunday, March 18
Athens, Ga.
1 p.m.
University of Georgia
1
vs
4
South Carolina
Photo by: Steffenie Burns
#8 Georgia Drops First SEC Match of the Season
March 18, 2018 | Women's Tennis
#8 Georgia Drops First SEC Match of the Season
ATHENS, Ga. – In a matchup between the last two unbeaten teams in conference play, 10th-ranked South Carolina prevailed, 4-1, against the No. 8 Georgia women's tennis team Sunday afternoon at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Winning the doubles point gave the Bulldogs (9-3, 4-1 SEC) momentum heading into singles, but the Gamecocks blitzed the individual courts putting Georgia into a hole it couldn't overcome.
"I thought we played one of our best doubles points of the year," Georgia head coach Jeff Wallace said. "Every player out there, whether it was South Carolina or Georgia, was playing high level doubles, really competitive. It was a great point, and we found a way to get it. I thought that would give us some momentum going into singles. Mariana (Gould) and Morgan (Coppoc) really brought it and played hard and competed, but we just have to be more reliable on the other courts. Things weren't going our way, but we weren't doing much about it."
The doubles point marked Georgia's fifth straight – all in SEC play. The Bulldogs have obtained the doubles point in all but one dual match this season.
Each doubles court was notched at 3-all. On court No. 3, senior Kennedy Shaffer and Annette Goulak trailed 2-3, before taking four of the next five games to win 6-4 and be first off the court. The victory over South Carolina's Megan Davies and Rachel Rohrabacher marked their first loss in dual play, coming into today 8-0. Meanwhile, Shaffer and Goulak moved to 4-0 in SEC play.
Clinching the point was Georgia's 12-ranked duo of freshman Katarina Jokic and senior Mariana Gould on court No. 2. After 3-3, teams exchanged breaks before the Bulldogs held and earned the final break to win 6-4. The win was the first in SEC play against the Gamecocks' duo of Ingrid Gamarra Martins and Mia Horvit.
Storming into singles, South Carolina took five of the six first sets. Georgia freshman Vivian Wolff fought back from down 0-4 to force a tiebreaker, but fell 8-6 to surrender the Gamecocks' last first set. South Carolina finished 2-3-1 to take the commanding 3-1 lead, leaving Georgia's hopes on the bottom three courts.
On court No. 4, Gould, ranked 125th in singles, represented Georgia's lone first set win and was heading to a win up, 6-4, 4-2, at the time of S.C.'s clinch. Next door at court No. 5, freshman Morgan Coppoc, ranked 93rd, after losing the first set, blanked her opponent in the second to force a third set, which never commenced. The Gamecocks clinched at No. 6 with Rohrabacher outlasting Wolff to remain undefeated in SEC play.
The Bulldogs transition to the road next weekend with a match Friday, March 23rd, at 6 p.m. against Kentucky in Lexington, prior to facing Vanderbilt Sunday, March 25th at 2 p.m. in Nashville.
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Winning the doubles point gave the Bulldogs (9-3, 4-1 SEC) momentum heading into singles, but the Gamecocks blitzed the individual courts putting Georgia into a hole it couldn't overcome.
"I thought we played one of our best doubles points of the year," Georgia head coach Jeff Wallace said. "Every player out there, whether it was South Carolina or Georgia, was playing high level doubles, really competitive. It was a great point, and we found a way to get it. I thought that would give us some momentum going into singles. Mariana (Gould) and Morgan (Coppoc) really brought it and played hard and competed, but we just have to be more reliable on the other courts. Things weren't going our way, but we weren't doing much about it."
The doubles point marked Georgia's fifth straight – all in SEC play. The Bulldogs have obtained the doubles point in all but one dual match this season.
Each doubles court was notched at 3-all. On court No. 3, senior Kennedy Shaffer and Annette Goulak trailed 2-3, before taking four of the next five games to win 6-4 and be first off the court. The victory over South Carolina's Megan Davies and Rachel Rohrabacher marked their first loss in dual play, coming into today 8-0. Meanwhile, Shaffer and Goulak moved to 4-0 in SEC play.
Clinching the point was Georgia's 12-ranked duo of freshman Katarina Jokic and senior Mariana Gould on court No. 2. After 3-3, teams exchanged breaks before the Bulldogs held and earned the final break to win 6-4. The win was the first in SEC play against the Gamecocks' duo of Ingrid Gamarra Martins and Mia Horvit.
Storming into singles, South Carolina took five of the six first sets. Georgia freshman Vivian Wolff fought back from down 0-4 to force a tiebreaker, but fell 8-6 to surrender the Gamecocks' last first set. South Carolina finished 2-3-1 to take the commanding 3-1 lead, leaving Georgia's hopes on the bottom three courts.
On court No. 4, Gould, ranked 125th in singles, represented Georgia's lone first set win and was heading to a win up, 6-4, 4-2, at the time of S.C.'s clinch. Next door at court No. 5, freshman Morgan Coppoc, ranked 93rd, after losing the first set, blanked her opponent in the second to force a third set, which never commenced. The Gamecocks clinched at No. 6 with Rohrabacher outlasting Wolff to remain undefeated in SEC play.
The Bulldogs transition to the road next weekend with a match Friday, March 23rd, at 6 p.m. against Kentucky in Lexington, prior to facing Vanderbilt Sunday, March 25th at 2 p.m. in Nashville.
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South Carolina vs Georgia
Mar 18, 2018 at Athens, Ga.
(Dan Magill Tennis Complex)
#10 South Carolina 4, #8 Georgia 1
Singles competition
1. #110 Ingrid Martins (SC) def. #2 Katarina Jokic (UGA) 6-3, 6-1
2. #29 Hadley Berg (SC) def. #59 Kennedy Shaffer (UGA) 6-1, 6-2
3. Mia Horvit (SC) def. Elena Christofi (UGA) 6-3, 6-1
4. #125 Mariana Gould (UGA) vs. Paige Cline (SC) 6-4, 4-2, unfinished
5. #93 Morgan Coppoc (UGA) vs. #121 Megan Davies (SC) 5-7, 6-0, unfinished
6. Rachel Rohrabacher (SC) def. Vivian Wolff (UGA) 7-6 (8-6), 6-0
Doubles competition
1. #10 Elena Christofi/Morgan Coppoc (UGA) vs. Paige Cline/Hadley Berg (SC) 5-6, unfinished
2. #12 Katarina Jokic/Mariana Gould (UGA) def. Ingrid Martins/Mia Horvit (SC) 6-4
3. Annette Goulak/Kennedy Shaffer (UGA) def. Megan Davies/Rachel Rohrabacher (SC) 6-4
Match Notes:
South Carolina 14-3, 6-0; National ranking #10
Georgia 9-3, 4-1; National ranking #8
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (2,3,1,6)
Official: Karen Badger-Mabry T-2:16 A-381
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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