University of Georgia Athletics
Friday, April 20
Knoxville, Tenn.
6:00 PM
University of Georgia
vs
Ole Miss
#8 Bulldogs Set for SEC Tournament
April 19, 2018 | Women's Tennis
#8 Bulldogs Set for SEC Tournament
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – After arriving Wednesday night, the eighth-ranked Georgia women's tennis team practiced Thursday afternoon for its final tune-up before the Bulldogs' first match of the 2018 Southeastern Conference Women's Tennis Tournament on Friday.
The Bulldogs concluded the regular season with a 15-5 overall record and a 10-3 clip in the SEC, earning the No. 4-seed and a double-bye in the SEC Tournament. Georgia hits the courts Friday at 6 p.m. ET, against the winner of the Thursday evening matchup between No. 5-seed Ole Miss and No. 12-seed Tennessee.
"We've improved on finishing the doubles point, which has resulted in us winning majority of our doubles points, and our singles has gotten better," Georgia head coach Jeff Wallace said. "We've seen this group learn to do a better job of playing with each other out there during singles play, and really inspiring and helping each other. Our level of our singles play has gone up, and I think our concentration and how to play the big points has improved. Now we are in the postseason and have to peak at the right time, and I think this team is capable of doing some really special things."
The five losses Georgia procured during the season are against teams currently ranked ahead of the No. 8 Bulldogs, making for a well-tested Georgia team. This weekend, the Bulldogs have an opportunity to redeem its three conference losses that resulted in a fourth place finish in the regular season standings. One of which can be as early as Friday if Ole Miss advances Thursday night.
Winning 17 of 20 doubles decisions in the dual season, the strength of Georgia clearly lays with the dual match's first point – the doubles point. Georgia is the only school in the SEC and one of three schools nationally that has two doubles teams ranked in ITA's top-20. Clinching the past two points is the 10th-ranked duo of Elena Chrisotfi and Morgan Coppoc on court one, while Katarina Jokic and Mariana Gould, ranked 15th, are riding a four match win streak on court two. Not letting up in the lineup, Kennedy Shaffer and Annette Goulak tallied the most conference wins on court three with seven.
A deep, balanced singles lineup follows, starting with Jokic, the highest-ranked freshman in the country at No. 10, who carries 11 dual wins – all on court one. Leading the Bulldogs in dual singles wins is Gould with a 14-1 record including a SEC-best 7-0 mark on court five. Next door, Coppoc holds a SEC-most seven wins on court six. Either Gould or Coppoc has been the first off their court with a win in the last six matches of the season.
The Bulldogs aim for the program's eighth SEC Tournament Title with the last one coming in 2014. Georgia has reached the Championship final in five of the past six years.
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.
Live Scoring : http://gado.gs/8wz
Tournament Home Page: http://gado.gs/8x0
The Bulldogs concluded the regular season with a 15-5 overall record and a 10-3 clip in the SEC, earning the No. 4-seed and a double-bye in the SEC Tournament. Georgia hits the courts Friday at 6 p.m. ET, against the winner of the Thursday evening matchup between No. 5-seed Ole Miss and No. 12-seed Tennessee.
"We've improved on finishing the doubles point, which has resulted in us winning majority of our doubles points, and our singles has gotten better," Georgia head coach Jeff Wallace said. "We've seen this group learn to do a better job of playing with each other out there during singles play, and really inspiring and helping each other. Our level of our singles play has gone up, and I think our concentration and how to play the big points has improved. Now we are in the postseason and have to peak at the right time, and I think this team is capable of doing some really special things."
The five losses Georgia procured during the season are against teams currently ranked ahead of the No. 8 Bulldogs, making for a well-tested Georgia team. This weekend, the Bulldogs have an opportunity to redeem its three conference losses that resulted in a fourth place finish in the regular season standings. One of which can be as early as Friday if Ole Miss advances Thursday night.
Winning 17 of 20 doubles decisions in the dual season, the strength of Georgia clearly lays with the dual match's first point – the doubles point. Georgia is the only school in the SEC and one of three schools nationally that has two doubles teams ranked in ITA's top-20. Clinching the past two points is the 10th-ranked duo of Elena Chrisotfi and Morgan Coppoc on court one, while Katarina Jokic and Mariana Gould, ranked 15th, are riding a four match win streak on court two. Not letting up in the lineup, Kennedy Shaffer and Annette Goulak tallied the most conference wins on court three with seven.
A deep, balanced singles lineup follows, starting with Jokic, the highest-ranked freshman in the country at No. 10, who carries 11 dual wins – all on court one. Leading the Bulldogs in dual singles wins is Gould with a 14-1 record including a SEC-best 7-0 mark on court five. Next door, Coppoc holds a SEC-most seven wins on court six. Either Gould or Coppoc has been the first off their court with a win in the last six matches of the season.
The Bulldogs aim for the program's eighth SEC Tournament Title with the last one coming in 2014. Georgia has reached the Championship final in five of the past six years.
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.
Live Scoring : http://gado.gs/8wz
Tournament Home Page: http://gado.gs/8x0
Players Mentioned
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