University of Georgia Athletics
Friday, March 23
Lexington, KY
6 p.m.
University of Georgia
4
at
0
Kentucky
Photo by: Steffenie Burns
No. 9 Bulldogs Overwhelm No. 20 Wildcats, 4-0
March 23, 2018 | Women's Tennis
No. 9 Bulldogs Overwhelm No. 20 Wildcats, 4-0
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Taking the doubles point and every first set on the singles end, propelled the ninth-ranked Georgia women's tennis team past No. 20 Kentucky, 4-0, Friday evening at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex.
Zooming through doubles, the Bulldogs entered singles play up 1-0 for their sixth-straight match. In all, Georgia has obtained the doubles point in 12 of 13 dual matches this season. Singles wins by senior Mariana Gould and freshmen Annette Goulak and Katarina Jokic sealed the Georgia win against the Wildcats.
The sweep marked Georgia's third within the Southeastern Conference and sixth overall this season. The Bulldogs improve to 10-3 overall and 5-1 in SEC play, while the Wildcats dropped to 11-6 on the season and 3-4 in SEC action.
"We came out and played a great match," Georgia head coach Jeff Wallace said. "At first the match looked like it was going to get played inside, but the weather improved and we were able to go outside. Our players handled that transition well, got in a great warm up, and it translated to a great doubles point."
First to finish doubles was Elena Christofi and Morgan Coppoc, ranked 11th in ITA doubles, on court one against Kentucky's sole ranked squad of #41 Mami Adachi and Emily Fanning, 6-1.
Georgia controlled each of the next two doubles courts, but it was Annette Goulak and Kennedy Shaffer that received the win on court three, dispatching Diana Tkachenko and Brianna Tulloch, 6-1, for the clinch. The Bulldogs' pair improved to 8-2 in dual action, and upping their perfect SEC record to 5-0 – the best in conference record for No. 3 doubles.
"The best part about the first sets in singles was that we got a 7-5 win on one, 6-4 on two, a tiebreaker on three, 6-1 on four, and then two 7-5s on the last two courts," Wallace said. "All the first sets were close, and we handled them well at the end."
The dominant play in doubles transferred to singles hence the Bulldogs not dropping a single first set. Gould raced through her first set and continued to put on the pressure to win 6-1, 6-4 against Tkachenko on court four. The senior, of Boise, Idaho, improved to 15-4 overall with a 7-1 dual record including a 4-1 SEC showing.
Over on court six, Goulak took a contested first set 7-5, before handling the second set 6-2 versus Brianna Tulloch. The Californian product upped her overall record to 16-6 after being out of the lineup for the last three matches.
Clinching the match was the nation's top-ranked freshman, #6 Jokic, dispatching Fanning, Kentucky's senior No. 1 player, 7-5, 6-2. The singles clincher is just the second on the year for Jokic who 27-4 overall record and 8-1 dual mark – both team-bests.
The road trip stiffens for Georgia Sunday with a battle against third-ranked Vanderbilt at 2 p.m. ET at the Brownlee O. Currey Jr. Tennis Center in Nashville, Tenn.
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Tennis Match Results
Georgia vs Kentucky
Mar 23, 2018 at Lexington, Ky.
(Boone Tennis Complex)
#9 Georgia 4, #20 Kentucky 0
Singles
1. #6 Katarina Jokic (UGA) def. Emily Fanning (UK) 7-5, 6-2
2. #100 Justina Mikulskyte (UK) vs. #45 Kennedy Shaffer (UGA) 4-6, 4-5, unfinished
3. Mami Adachi (UK) vs. Elena Christofi (UGA) 6-7 (2-7), 1-4, unfinished
4. Mariana Gould (UGA) def. Diana Tkachenko (UK) 6-1, 6-4
5. Lesedi Jacobs (UK) vs. #110 Morgan Coppoc (UGA) 5-7, 5-3, unfinished
6. Annette Goulak (UGA) def. Brianna Tulloch (UK) 7-5, 6-2
Doubles
1. #11 Elena Christofi/Morgan Coppoc (UGA) def. #41 Mami Adachi/Emily Fanning (UK) 6-1
2. Lesedi Jacobs/Justina Mikulskyte (UK) vs. #9 Katarina Jokic/Mariana Gould (UGA) 2-4, unfinished
3. Kennedy Shaffer/Annette Goulak (UGA) def. Diana Tkachenko/Brianna Tulloch (UK) 6-1
Match Notes:
Georgia 10-3, 5-1 SEC; National ranking #9
Kentucky 11-6, 3-4 SEC; National ranking #20
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (4,6,1)
Official: Larry Slone
Zooming through doubles, the Bulldogs entered singles play up 1-0 for their sixth-straight match. In all, Georgia has obtained the doubles point in 12 of 13 dual matches this season. Singles wins by senior Mariana Gould and freshmen Annette Goulak and Katarina Jokic sealed the Georgia win against the Wildcats.
The sweep marked Georgia's third within the Southeastern Conference and sixth overall this season. The Bulldogs improve to 10-3 overall and 5-1 in SEC play, while the Wildcats dropped to 11-6 on the season and 3-4 in SEC action.
"We came out and played a great match," Georgia head coach Jeff Wallace said. "At first the match looked like it was going to get played inside, but the weather improved and we were able to go outside. Our players handled that transition well, got in a great warm up, and it translated to a great doubles point."
First to finish doubles was Elena Christofi and Morgan Coppoc, ranked 11th in ITA doubles, on court one against Kentucky's sole ranked squad of #41 Mami Adachi and Emily Fanning, 6-1.
Georgia controlled each of the next two doubles courts, but it was Annette Goulak and Kennedy Shaffer that received the win on court three, dispatching Diana Tkachenko and Brianna Tulloch, 6-1, for the clinch. The Bulldogs' pair improved to 8-2 in dual action, and upping their perfect SEC record to 5-0 – the best in conference record for No. 3 doubles.
"The best part about the first sets in singles was that we got a 7-5 win on one, 6-4 on two, a tiebreaker on three, 6-1 on four, and then two 7-5s on the last two courts," Wallace said. "All the first sets were close, and we handled them well at the end."
The dominant play in doubles transferred to singles hence the Bulldogs not dropping a single first set. Gould raced through her first set and continued to put on the pressure to win 6-1, 6-4 against Tkachenko on court four. The senior, of Boise, Idaho, improved to 15-4 overall with a 7-1 dual record including a 4-1 SEC showing.
Over on court six, Goulak took a contested first set 7-5, before handling the second set 6-2 versus Brianna Tulloch. The Californian product upped her overall record to 16-6 after being out of the lineup for the last three matches.
Clinching the match was the nation's top-ranked freshman, #6 Jokic, dispatching Fanning, Kentucky's senior No. 1 player, 7-5, 6-2. The singles clincher is just the second on the year for Jokic who 27-4 overall record and 8-1 dual mark – both team-bests.
The road trip stiffens for Georgia Sunday with a battle against third-ranked Vanderbilt at 2 p.m. ET at the Brownlee O. Currey Jr. Tennis Center in Nashville, Tenn.
##
Tennis Match Results
Georgia vs Kentucky
Mar 23, 2018 at Lexington, Ky.
(Boone Tennis Complex)
#9 Georgia 4, #20 Kentucky 0
Singles
1. #6 Katarina Jokic (UGA) def. Emily Fanning (UK) 7-5, 6-2
2. #100 Justina Mikulskyte (UK) vs. #45 Kennedy Shaffer (UGA) 4-6, 4-5, unfinished
3. Mami Adachi (UK) vs. Elena Christofi (UGA) 6-7 (2-7), 1-4, unfinished
4. Mariana Gould (UGA) def. Diana Tkachenko (UK) 6-1, 6-4
5. Lesedi Jacobs (UK) vs. #110 Morgan Coppoc (UGA) 5-7, 5-3, unfinished
6. Annette Goulak (UGA) def. Brianna Tulloch (UK) 7-5, 6-2
Doubles
1. #11 Elena Christofi/Morgan Coppoc (UGA) def. #41 Mami Adachi/Emily Fanning (UK) 6-1
2. Lesedi Jacobs/Justina Mikulskyte (UK) vs. #9 Katarina Jokic/Mariana Gould (UGA) 2-4, unfinished
3. Kennedy Shaffer/Annette Goulak (UGA) def. Diana Tkachenko/Brianna Tulloch (UK) 6-1
Match Notes:
Georgia 10-3, 5-1 SEC; National ranking #9
Kentucky 11-6, 3-4 SEC; National ranking #20
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (4,6,1)
Official: Larry Slone
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
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/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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