No. 5 Georgia Opens Season Friday At Home

ATHENS-----The fifth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs open their indoor dual match season here Friday by playing host to an ITA Kick-Off event.

            The Bulldogs face South Florida at 2 p.m. while the first match of the day will feature Kansas State versus William & Mary at 10 a.m. Action continues Saturday with the losing teams from day one squaring off at 10 a.m. followed by the winners at 2 p.m. Admission is free at the Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Courts, and fans can follow the action via Live Scoring at this link: http://www.gado.gs/17e

            Georgia's lineup features six nationally-ranked singles players highlighted by top-ranked Katarina Jokic. The sophomore All-American posted a 10-1 record in fall action capped by claiming the Oracle ITA National Fall Championship singles title. Georgia junior Marta Gonzalez, ranked No. 14, led the squad in wins during the fall with a 14-3 record.

Last season, the Bulldogs went 18-7, advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships and finished nationally ranked No. 7.Jeff Wallace is now in his 34^th season directing the Bulldog program.

"The kick-off weekend is here, and we've got some great teams coming in town, and we're looking forward to getting started Friday at 2 p.m.," said Wallace. "We got South Florida first and then either Kansas State or William & Mary. The goal this weekend is to win two matches to advance to the National Indoors."

            There are 15 ITA Kick-Off events held across the country this weekend, and the teams that go 2-0 advance to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships slated for Feb. 8-11 in Seattle, Washington. The Bulldogs have played host to an ITA Kick-Off event nine times and sport a perfect 18-0 record. As the host school for the national event, the University of Washington rounds out the 16-team field.

Every team coming to Athens Friday has already played at least one dual match. USF arrives with a 1-2 record, William & Mary is 1-1 while KSU is 1-0. Georgia's last meeting with South Florida came in the 2010 opener, a 5-2 Bulldog win. Georgia leads the series with the Bulls 6-5 dating back to 1980. USF finished last season 11-11.

The last meeting withWilliam & Mary came in the second match of the 2010 ITA Kickoff in Athens. The Bulldogs posted a 4-2 victory. Georgia holds a 9-2 edge in the series with the Tribe dating back to 1986.William & Mary is coming off a 17-10 season including its fourth-straight Colonial Athletic Association Championship with a NCAA Tournament appearance. Georgia started the 2012 season with a 6-1 win over Kansas State and that marks the only meeting with the Wildcats. KSU went 15-11 last year including reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

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Players Mentioned

Marta Gonzalez

Katarina Jokic

University of Georgia Athletics