University of Georgia Athletics
Thursday, April 5
Oxford, Miss
5 p.m.
University of Georgia
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at
4
Mississippi
#7 Georgia Falls in Third-Sets to #9 Ole Miss, 4-3
April 05, 2018 | Women's Tennis
#7 Georgia Falls in Third-Sets to #9 Ole Miss, 4-3
OXFORD, Miss. – Living up to the hype, the top-10 ranked matchup between seventh-ranked Georgia and No. 9 Ole Miss ended with the Rebels slipping by the Bulldogs, 4-3, in a third-set Thursday evening at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center.
A closely contested doubles point in which the Rebels took, then transitioned into singles play that included three third-sets. The deciding match centered on court four between sophomore Elena Christofi of Georgia and Anna Vrbenska of Ole Miss. After Christofi took the first set, 6-1, Vrbenska forced an extra set, 6-4, and then outlasted the Bulldog 6-4 for the match clincher.
"It was a hard match to lose," Georgia head coach Jeff Wallace said. "We played really well in a lot of spots and I thought Ole Miss did too, so when you have two top-10 teams battling you just expect that it is going to be one that comes right down to the end and it did. So many of our players did great, and gave us opportunities to win. I thought our doubles could of been better, but it was a great match. I was proud of a lot of things we did out there, but there are still a few things we are trying to get a grip on, learn and apply. That is where the work needs to get put in."
At one instance, Georgia swung its 1-2 deficit to a 3-2 advantage in minutes, but the Rebels hung on to get their first win against the Bulldogs in eight years. Notching singles wins for Georgia was Mariana Gould, Marta Gonzalez and Morgan Coppoc.
Jumping right into high-level tennis, the doubles featured two of the highest-ranked duos in the Southeastern Conference with No. 6 Arianne Hartono and Alexa Bortles against No. 8 Christofi and Coppoc. The Rebels' tandem outlasted the Bulldogs after being knotted at 4-all, then Ole Miss handed Georgia just its third doubles loss of the dual season shortly after.
Early singles action foreshadowed the tight finish as each team had a firm handle on two courts and the other two were consistently tied. Georgia was up throughout on four and five, while Ole Miss controlled courts one and two, which stayed true by the conclusion of the first sets.
For the second straight match, Gould got off the court first with a win. The senior raced through the first set, before wrapping up the match 6-0, 6-4 over Bortles on court five. The Rebels answered right back with a win on court one to go back up by one, 2-1.
Play stiffened again with three courts spilling into third sets. After dropping first sets, Coppoc and Kennedy Shaffer forced another set with the latter winning a tiebreaker.
Gonzalez, ranked No. 86 in ITA singles, defeated No. 108 Tea Jandric in straight sets on court three. Then Coppoc took the third set, 6-2, handing Tereza Janatova her first dual season loss. The win marked Coppoc's fifth in a row and first-career third-set win.
Ole Miss wrapped up the final two third-sets to move to 16-5 overall and 7-4 in conference play. Georgia dropped to 12-5 on the season and 7-3 in the SEC.
The Bulldogs head approximately 100 miles southeast to Starkville to play their last regular season road match against Mississippi State on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.
#
Tennis Match Results
Georgia vs Ole Miss
Apr 5, 2018 at Oxford, MS
(Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center)
#9 Ole Miss 4, #7 Georgia 3
Singles competition
1. #15 Arianne Hartono (OM) def. #8 Katarina Jokic (UGA) 6-3, 6-4
2. #87 Sabina Machalova (OM) def. #57 Kennedy Shaffer (UGA) 6-1, 6-7 (2-7), 6-1
3. #86 Marta Gonzalez (UGA) def. #108 Tea Jandric (OM) 6-4, 6-3
4. Anna Vrbenska (OM) def. Elena Christofi (UGA) 1-6, 6-4, 6-4
5. Mariana Gould (UGA) def. Alexa Bortles (OM) 6-0, 6-4
6. Morgan Coppoc (UGA) def. Tereza Janatova (OM) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #6 Arianne Hartono/Alexa Bortles (OM) def. #8 Elena Christofi/Morgan Coppoc (UGA) 6-4
2. Sabina Machalova/Tea Jandric (OM) vs. #18 Katarina Jokic/Mariana Gould (UGA) 5-5, unfinished
3. Natalie Suk/Anna Vrbenska (OM) def. Kennedy Shaffer/Annette Goulak (UGA) 6-4
Match Notes:
Georgia 12-5, 7-3; National ranking #7
Ole Miss 16-5, 7-4; National ranking #9
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (5,1,3,6,2,4)
A closely contested doubles point in which the Rebels took, then transitioned into singles play that included three third-sets. The deciding match centered on court four between sophomore Elena Christofi of Georgia and Anna Vrbenska of Ole Miss. After Christofi took the first set, 6-1, Vrbenska forced an extra set, 6-4, and then outlasted the Bulldog 6-4 for the match clincher.
"It was a hard match to lose," Georgia head coach Jeff Wallace said. "We played really well in a lot of spots and I thought Ole Miss did too, so when you have two top-10 teams battling you just expect that it is going to be one that comes right down to the end and it did. So many of our players did great, and gave us opportunities to win. I thought our doubles could of been better, but it was a great match. I was proud of a lot of things we did out there, but there are still a few things we are trying to get a grip on, learn and apply. That is where the work needs to get put in."
At one instance, Georgia swung its 1-2 deficit to a 3-2 advantage in minutes, but the Rebels hung on to get their first win against the Bulldogs in eight years. Notching singles wins for Georgia was Mariana Gould, Marta Gonzalez and Morgan Coppoc.
Jumping right into high-level tennis, the doubles featured two of the highest-ranked duos in the Southeastern Conference with No. 6 Arianne Hartono and Alexa Bortles against No. 8 Christofi and Coppoc. The Rebels' tandem outlasted the Bulldogs after being knotted at 4-all, then Ole Miss handed Georgia just its third doubles loss of the dual season shortly after.
Early singles action foreshadowed the tight finish as each team had a firm handle on two courts and the other two were consistently tied. Georgia was up throughout on four and five, while Ole Miss controlled courts one and two, which stayed true by the conclusion of the first sets.
For the second straight match, Gould got off the court first with a win. The senior raced through the first set, before wrapping up the match 6-0, 6-4 over Bortles on court five. The Rebels answered right back with a win on court one to go back up by one, 2-1.
Play stiffened again with three courts spilling into third sets. After dropping first sets, Coppoc and Kennedy Shaffer forced another set with the latter winning a tiebreaker.
Gonzalez, ranked No. 86 in ITA singles, defeated No. 108 Tea Jandric in straight sets on court three. Then Coppoc took the third set, 6-2, handing Tereza Janatova her first dual season loss. The win marked Coppoc's fifth in a row and first-career third-set win.
Ole Miss wrapped up the final two third-sets to move to 16-5 overall and 7-4 in conference play. Georgia dropped to 12-5 on the season and 7-3 in the SEC.
The Bulldogs head approximately 100 miles southeast to Starkville to play their last regular season road match against Mississippi State on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.
#
Tennis Match Results
Georgia vs Ole Miss
Apr 5, 2018 at Oxford, MS
(Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center)
#9 Ole Miss 4, #7 Georgia 3
Singles competition
1. #15 Arianne Hartono (OM) def. #8 Katarina Jokic (UGA) 6-3, 6-4
2. #87 Sabina Machalova (OM) def. #57 Kennedy Shaffer (UGA) 6-1, 6-7 (2-7), 6-1
3. #86 Marta Gonzalez (UGA) def. #108 Tea Jandric (OM) 6-4, 6-3
4. Anna Vrbenska (OM) def. Elena Christofi (UGA) 1-6, 6-4, 6-4
5. Mariana Gould (UGA) def. Alexa Bortles (OM) 6-0, 6-4
6. Morgan Coppoc (UGA) def. Tereza Janatova (OM) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #6 Arianne Hartono/Alexa Bortles (OM) def. #8 Elena Christofi/Morgan Coppoc (UGA) 6-4
2. Sabina Machalova/Tea Jandric (OM) vs. #18 Katarina Jokic/Mariana Gould (UGA) 5-5, unfinished
3. Natalie Suk/Anna Vrbenska (OM) def. Kennedy Shaffer/Annette Goulak (UGA) 6-4
Match Notes:
Georgia 12-5, 7-3; National ranking #7
Ole Miss 16-5, 7-4; National ranking #9
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (5,1,3,6,2,4)
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