Friday, April 12
Athens, Ga.
4 P.M.
University of Georgia
4
vs
0
Kentucky
Georgia Captures SEC Regular Season Championship
April 12, 2019 | Women's Tennis
ATHENS, Ga. – The second-ranked Georgia women's tennis team paired its undefeated record with winning the 2019 Southeastern Conference regular season championship Friday afternoon in front of a crowd of 736 fans at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
The Bulldogs (20-0, 12-0 SEC) shutout No. 24 Kentucky (17-6, 7-5 SEC) for its seventh-straight 4-0 conference victory and ninth total, which ties a program record set in 2014. The SEC regular season title marks the 10th in Georgia history and first since 2013.
"I mean just a great day for the Bulldogs," Georgia head coach Jeff Wallace said. "It was really special when we won that national indoor title out in Seattle, but we were out there all by ourselves, and to win this championship here in front of our home crowd was really great. These fans here in Athens have been awesome for us all year, and we just wouldn't be able to do something like we did today without them. Every time we needed a boost, they were there for us, and I thought our players really played well as a team and as a group and just had a great day, so it's super exciting to win this. We've got a big one on Sunday. We've got to regroup and get ready for that."
For the seventh match in a row, Georgia started off with a 1-0 lead after taking the doubles point. Georgia improved to 15-for-19 in the doubles point in the season, while Kentucky dropped to 15-for-23.
On court three, junior Marta Gonzalez and freshman Meg Kowalski made quick work of UK's junior-freshman duo of Diana Tkachenko and Alexis Merrill, winning 6-0 for their fourth-straight win.
Competition was much more fierce on the other two courts as the Wildcats led court one at 5-4, and were threatening to break Georgia's serve on court two, up 40-15 with a 5-3 deficit. However, sophomore Vivian Wolff and junior Elena Christofi tightened up in a big way against redshirt-sophomore Lesedi Jacobs and junior Anastasia Tkachenko. After making it 30-40, Wolff powered back-to-back serves that Kentucky couldn't handle to clinch the doubles point. Christofi and Wolff, ranked No. 74 in ITA doubles, increased their undefeated mark to 12-0 with their eighth clinch.
The change over into singles resembled the dominance the Bulldogs have displayed all season. Georgia obtained the first set on five courts, while battling to a lengthy 14-12 tiebreaker defeat on the last one. By the time that last marathon first-set tiebreaker completed, the other Georgia players were storming freshman Lourdes Carle who just clinched the team victory.
"It was super exciting" Wallace said about the team rushing Carle. "I mean that's what you want to see, you want to have all your players be happy when you win a championship like this and I'm so happy for Lourdes too. She was playing some really outstanding tennis, and that girl [opponent] actually started picking it up there in the second set and then Lourdes closes it out. You want your teammates to be thrilled like that and excited and they certainly were."
Fittingly, the singles wins that secured Georgia's regular season title and kept the Bulldogs' record clean came from individuals that all flaunt undefeated records within the conference. First, Wolff grabbed her 11th win, Christofi notched her sixth, and Carle picked up her 8th victory in SEC play.
Extending her win streak to 14 in a row, Wolff, ranked No. 53 in ITA singles, raced past Wildcat redshirt-junior Akvile Parazinskaite, 6-2, 6-1, on court four. The Frankfurt, Germany native increased her team-best record to 26-3, which includes an 18-1 dual mark.
Mere moments later Wolff's doubles partner, Christofi, put Georgia up 3-0 in a battle of juniors on court five. The Athens, Greece product defeated Diana Tkachenko, 6-2, 6-0, stretching her win streak to seven in a row. Christofi improved her dual total to 11-2 within an overall 15-5 record.
Lastly, Carle, of Daireaux, Argentina, outlasted one of the other top freshmen within the conference in Kentucky's Tiphanie Fiquet who entered the match 14-4 in duals. The clinch was Carle's fourth of the season as she bested Fiquet, 6-2, 6-2, on court three. The No. 87-ranked Carle upped her win streak to nine and her overall record to 18-5.
"It's so hard to describe the feeling right now," Carle said. "This team for me is so special, so to get the victory for winning this match was awesome for me. I think we're doing great, because we are close to each other. We fight for each other, and we compete for each other, so that is the key and the best thing that we do as a team."
At the end of play, No. 1-ranked Katarina Jokic had a 6-3, 4-2 lead on No. 15 Justina Mikulskyte on court one, while Gonzalez dropped the long-drawn-out first-set tiebreaker on court two, and Kowalski was fixing to start a third set on court six.
Georgia finishes its regular season schedule at home Sunday against No. 7 Vanderbilt at 1 p.m.
Coaches' Corner
Jeff Wallace
On the specialness of playing at home...
"It's just special. Anytime we play here at home at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex, it's just awesome. It's the greatest tennis facility in the country and, our players, they love what they're doing. They love to play and really get along and they love each other. They absolutely love the University of Georgia, and they want to win matches for this school and this group of people. It's super exciting that they were able to accomplish this today and, there's still more great stuff left in the rest of the season so we're thrilled about that too."
On the mindset of resetting for Sunday and beyond...
"Well, you just have to, I mean, the bottom line is, we're going to be really excited about this and it's a great celebration. We're SEC champions, but these guys love to compete and come Sunday at one o'clock with Vanderbilt they're going to be ready to compete again that's what they really enjoy doing so. I'm not too worried about getting them back up for now the big match after a championship like this. And then you know obviously the SEC tournament where everybody's going to bring it and then the NCAA is what defines your season, so we're excited about what's in front of us, but we're really happy today that we were able to clinch this conference title."
Player's Perspective
Freshman Meg Kowalski
On being a part of a championship team...
"It's definitely incredible. This is definitely an amazing year and we're not done yet. I want to keep it going. I mean, you can't ask for anything more than this. I just love the girls and I'm so excited for what the rest of the season holds."
On looking ahead to the remainder of the season...
"This was our 20th match of the season, so our bodies are tired and we're definitely a little run down but we're just so excited and we take every match the same whether it's for the championship or not. We're definitely going to rest and keep the same mindset we have been. All the teams are definitely going to be tired since it's the end of the season, but it just ends on who wants it more and I think we want it more than the other teams. We just have to keep playing hard, keep winning and stay hungry."
The Bulldogs (20-0, 12-0 SEC) shutout No. 24 Kentucky (17-6, 7-5 SEC) for its seventh-straight 4-0 conference victory and ninth total, which ties a program record set in 2014. The SEC regular season title marks the 10th in Georgia history and first since 2013.
"I mean just a great day for the Bulldogs," Georgia head coach Jeff Wallace said. "It was really special when we won that national indoor title out in Seattle, but we were out there all by ourselves, and to win this championship here in front of our home crowd was really great. These fans here in Athens have been awesome for us all year, and we just wouldn't be able to do something like we did today without them. Every time we needed a boost, they were there for us, and I thought our players really played well as a team and as a group and just had a great day, so it's super exciting to win this. We've got a big one on Sunday. We've got to regroup and get ready for that."
For the seventh match in a row, Georgia started off with a 1-0 lead after taking the doubles point. Georgia improved to 15-for-19 in the doubles point in the season, while Kentucky dropped to 15-for-23.
On court three, junior Marta Gonzalez and freshman Meg Kowalski made quick work of UK's junior-freshman duo of Diana Tkachenko and Alexis Merrill, winning 6-0 for their fourth-straight win.
Competition was much more fierce on the other two courts as the Wildcats led court one at 5-4, and were threatening to break Georgia's serve on court two, up 40-15 with a 5-3 deficit. However, sophomore Vivian Wolff and junior Elena Christofi tightened up in a big way against redshirt-sophomore Lesedi Jacobs and junior Anastasia Tkachenko. After making it 30-40, Wolff powered back-to-back serves that Kentucky couldn't handle to clinch the doubles point. Christofi and Wolff, ranked No. 74 in ITA doubles, increased their undefeated mark to 12-0 with their eighth clinch.
The change over into singles resembled the dominance the Bulldogs have displayed all season. Georgia obtained the first set on five courts, while battling to a lengthy 14-12 tiebreaker defeat on the last one. By the time that last marathon first-set tiebreaker completed, the other Georgia players were storming freshman Lourdes Carle who just clinched the team victory.
"It was super exciting" Wallace said about the team rushing Carle. "I mean that's what you want to see, you want to have all your players be happy when you win a championship like this and I'm so happy for Lourdes too. She was playing some really outstanding tennis, and that girl [opponent] actually started picking it up there in the second set and then Lourdes closes it out. You want your teammates to be thrilled like that and excited and they certainly were."
Fittingly, the singles wins that secured Georgia's regular season title and kept the Bulldogs' record clean came from individuals that all flaunt undefeated records within the conference. First, Wolff grabbed her 11th win, Christofi notched her sixth, and Carle picked up her 8th victory in SEC play.
Extending her win streak to 14 in a row, Wolff, ranked No. 53 in ITA singles, raced past Wildcat redshirt-junior Akvile Parazinskaite, 6-2, 6-1, on court four. The Frankfurt, Germany native increased her team-best record to 26-3, which includes an 18-1 dual mark.
Mere moments later Wolff's doubles partner, Christofi, put Georgia up 3-0 in a battle of juniors on court five. The Athens, Greece product defeated Diana Tkachenko, 6-2, 6-0, stretching her win streak to seven in a row. Christofi improved her dual total to 11-2 within an overall 15-5 record.
Lastly, Carle, of Daireaux, Argentina, outlasted one of the other top freshmen within the conference in Kentucky's Tiphanie Fiquet who entered the match 14-4 in duals. The clinch was Carle's fourth of the season as she bested Fiquet, 6-2, 6-2, on court three. The No. 87-ranked Carle upped her win streak to nine and her overall record to 18-5.
"It's so hard to describe the feeling right now," Carle said. "This team for me is so special, so to get the victory for winning this match was awesome for me. I think we're doing great, because we are close to each other. We fight for each other, and we compete for each other, so that is the key and the best thing that we do as a team."
At the end of play, No. 1-ranked Katarina Jokic had a 6-3, 4-2 lead on No. 15 Justina Mikulskyte on court one, while Gonzalez dropped the long-drawn-out first-set tiebreaker on court two, and Kowalski was fixing to start a third set on court six.
Georgia finishes its regular season schedule at home Sunday against No. 7 Vanderbilt at 1 p.m.
Coaches' Corner
Jeff Wallace
On the specialness of playing at home...
"It's just special. Anytime we play here at home at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex, it's just awesome. It's the greatest tennis facility in the country and, our players, they love what they're doing. They love to play and really get along and they love each other. They absolutely love the University of Georgia, and they want to win matches for this school and this group of people. It's super exciting that they were able to accomplish this today and, there's still more great stuff left in the rest of the season so we're thrilled about that too."
On the mindset of resetting for Sunday and beyond...
"Well, you just have to, I mean, the bottom line is, we're going to be really excited about this and it's a great celebration. We're SEC champions, but these guys love to compete and come Sunday at one o'clock with Vanderbilt they're going to be ready to compete again that's what they really enjoy doing so. I'm not too worried about getting them back up for now the big match after a championship like this. And then you know obviously the SEC tournament where everybody's going to bring it and then the NCAA is what defines your season, so we're excited about what's in front of us, but we're really happy today that we were able to clinch this conference title."
Player's Perspective
Freshman Meg Kowalski
On being a part of a championship team...
"It's definitely incredible. This is definitely an amazing year and we're not done yet. I want to keep it going. I mean, you can't ask for anything more than this. I just love the girls and I'm so excited for what the rest of the season holds."
On looking ahead to the remainder of the season...
"This was our 20th match of the season, so our bodies are tired and we're definitely a little run down but we're just so excited and we take every match the same whether it's for the championship or not. We're definitely going to rest and keep the same mindset we have been. All the teams are definitely going to be tired since it's the end of the season, but it just ends on who wants it more and I think we want it more than the other teams. We just have to keep playing hard, keep winning and stay hungry."
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
Inside Women's Tennis: Serving up Success - Episode 6
Monday, June 02
Georgia Women's Tennis NCAA Championship vs. Texas A&M Highlights
Tuesday, May 20
Georgia Women's Tennis NCAA Championship vs Texas A&M Postgame Presser
Monday, May 19
Georgia Women's Tennis NCAA Semifinal vs. North Carolina Video Recap
Saturday, May 17
