Sunday, April 21
College Station, Texas
4:30 PM
University of Georgia
3
vs
4
University of South Carolina
Heartbreak for #1 Georgia in SEC Tournament Final
April 21, 2019 | Women's Tennis
Top-Seeded Bulldogs Fall in 4-3 Affair
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Southeastern Conference Tournament Championship hinged on the last remaining singles court, but this time it did not go in favor of the No. 1-seed Bulldogs, resulting in a 4-3 loss to No. 2-seed South Carolina Sunday evening.
The undefeated season that featured a new program record win streak came to a close, however Georgia (23-1) will continue play in two weeks in the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA selection show is scheduled for next Monday, April 29th at 6 p.m. ET.
Georgia took the doubles point, but dropping four first sets proved costly, and the Bulldogs were unable to recover. Junior Elena Christofi and sophomore Vivian Wolff represented Georgia's two singles wins on the day, as the two Bulldogs each improved to 3-0 on the weekend, earning SEC All-Tournament honors.
"We played great doubles all weekend as we got all three doubles points" Georgia head coach Jeff Wallace said. "I think what we take away from this is how much we've learned, and what we need to apply moving forward to the NCAA Tournament. You have to take your hat off to South Carolina; they played a great match against us today. We've had an epic year, and we've been in a lot of battles like this and we've found ways to get through it and get it done, but we just didn't this time. South Carolina had a lot to do with that. At the same time I think our players learned a lot about what transpired today. Our big challenge will be applying those things."
The doubles and the result of No 1-ranked Georgia and No. 5 South Carolina was a flip from what transpired in the regular season. However at first the doubles looked like it was going the Gamecocks' way. South Carolina took court three and was leading 1-3 on court one.
Georgia's team of Lourdes Carle and Katarina Jokic, on court one, started playing their best tennis of the season. They won two games in a row and then had the match tied at 5-all, before winning the last two games. Carle, a freshman from Daireaux, Argentina, had the net shot that clinched it over SC's Mia Horvit and Ingrid Martins. It marked the third ranked win from Jokic and Carle in the tournament.
Prior to that finish, Christofi and Wolff, ranked No. 76 in ITA doubles, defeated Rachel Rohrabacher and Paige Cline, 6-4, on court two. The Georgia tandem improved their overall record to 14-0.
The transition to singles swayed in South Carolina's momentum with the four first sets, but they didn't come easy. One Gamecock first set was a tiebreaker and another was tied at 4-all. Five of the six singles courts ended in straight sets, leaving court one as the decider.
Cline, ranked No. 23 in ITA singles, defeated No. 19 Marta Gonzalez, 6-3, 6-0, on court two, putting the Gamecocks on the scoreboard. Soon thereafter on court six, Rohrabacher handed freshman Meg Kowalski her first loss of the season, 6-4, 6-3, to give SC the 2-1 lead. Kowalski, of Chicago, dropped to 20-1 on the season.
Christofi, of Athens, Greece, evened the team score at 2-all after dispatching Silvia Chinellato, 6-3, 7-5, on court five. The junior Bulldog upped her season mark to 18-5.
South Carolina moved ahead again, 3-2, with No. 84 Horvit edging No. 62 Carle in a hard-fought 7-6 (3), 6-3 final score. Next, No. 64 Wolff fought off Megan Davies in the other match that featured a first set tiebreaker. Wolff, of Frankfurt, Germany, prevailed 7-6(4), 7-5 to knot the team score at 3-all and send all attention to court one.
The remaining court featured two of the nation's top-5 singles players in ITA rankings with No. 1 Jokic and No. 4 Martins. Martins, the tournament MVP, took the first set, while Jokic got the crucial second set that Georgia needed for the chance to win. Tied at 4-all, Martins held serve for the 5-4 advantage, and then with Jokic's serve on deuce point, Martins won to end the match.
"We had a lot of opportunities out here on a lot of courts, but again you have to credit South Carolina," Wallace added. "Normally, we close those out and keep leads, but I think we just have to be more mentally composed throughout the match. We will learn from it and get excited for the NCAAs."
The undefeated season that featured a new program record win streak came to a close, however Georgia (23-1) will continue play in two weeks in the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA selection show is scheduled for next Monday, April 29th at 6 p.m. ET.
Georgia took the doubles point, but dropping four first sets proved costly, and the Bulldogs were unable to recover. Junior Elena Christofi and sophomore Vivian Wolff represented Georgia's two singles wins on the day, as the two Bulldogs each improved to 3-0 on the weekend, earning SEC All-Tournament honors.
"We played great doubles all weekend as we got all three doubles points" Georgia head coach Jeff Wallace said. "I think what we take away from this is how much we've learned, and what we need to apply moving forward to the NCAA Tournament. You have to take your hat off to South Carolina; they played a great match against us today. We've had an epic year, and we've been in a lot of battles like this and we've found ways to get through it and get it done, but we just didn't this time. South Carolina had a lot to do with that. At the same time I think our players learned a lot about what transpired today. Our big challenge will be applying those things."
The doubles and the result of No 1-ranked Georgia and No. 5 South Carolina was a flip from what transpired in the regular season. However at first the doubles looked like it was going the Gamecocks' way. South Carolina took court three and was leading 1-3 on court one.
Georgia's team of Lourdes Carle and Katarina Jokic, on court one, started playing their best tennis of the season. They won two games in a row and then had the match tied at 5-all, before winning the last two games. Carle, a freshman from Daireaux, Argentina, had the net shot that clinched it over SC's Mia Horvit and Ingrid Martins. It marked the third ranked win from Jokic and Carle in the tournament.
Prior to that finish, Christofi and Wolff, ranked No. 76 in ITA doubles, defeated Rachel Rohrabacher and Paige Cline, 6-4, on court two. The Georgia tandem improved their overall record to 14-0.
The transition to singles swayed in South Carolina's momentum with the four first sets, but they didn't come easy. One Gamecock first set was a tiebreaker and another was tied at 4-all. Five of the six singles courts ended in straight sets, leaving court one as the decider.
Cline, ranked No. 23 in ITA singles, defeated No. 19 Marta Gonzalez, 6-3, 6-0, on court two, putting the Gamecocks on the scoreboard. Soon thereafter on court six, Rohrabacher handed freshman Meg Kowalski her first loss of the season, 6-4, 6-3, to give SC the 2-1 lead. Kowalski, of Chicago, dropped to 20-1 on the season.
Christofi, of Athens, Greece, evened the team score at 2-all after dispatching Silvia Chinellato, 6-3, 7-5, on court five. The junior Bulldog upped her season mark to 18-5.
South Carolina moved ahead again, 3-2, with No. 84 Horvit edging No. 62 Carle in a hard-fought 7-6 (3), 6-3 final score. Next, No. 64 Wolff fought off Megan Davies in the other match that featured a first set tiebreaker. Wolff, of Frankfurt, Germany, prevailed 7-6(4), 7-5 to knot the team score at 3-all and send all attention to court one.
The remaining court featured two of the nation's top-5 singles players in ITA rankings with No. 1 Jokic and No. 4 Martins. Martins, the tournament MVP, took the first set, while Jokic got the crucial second set that Georgia needed for the chance to win. Tied at 4-all, Martins held serve for the 5-4 advantage, and then with Jokic's serve on deuce point, Martins won to end the match.
"We had a lot of opportunities out here on a lot of courts, but again you have to credit South Carolina," Wallace added. "Normally, we close those out and keep leads, but I think we just have to be more mentally composed throughout the match. We will learn from it and get excited for the NCAAs."
Players Mentioned
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