University of Georgia Athletics
Bulldogs Open the Georgia Invitational with Eight Wins
October 22, 2021 | Women's Tennis
ATHENS, GA. — Georgia tallied three doubles wins and five Bulldogs notched singles victories on Friday, Oct. 22, the opening day of the Georgia Invitational.
Graduate Morgan Coppoc, senior Meg Kowalski, junior Lea Ma, and freshmen Guillermina Grant and Mell Reasco all notched singles victories on day one. No. 15 Kowalski faced a top-25 opponent in Central Florida's No. 20 Valeriya Zeleva. Kowalski jumped to an early lead and carried the momentum en route to a 6-3, 6-2 victory. No. 19 Ma beat Central Florida's Jaleesa Leslie, 6-3, 6-1, and No. 66 Coppoc defeated Florida's Alicia Dudeney 7-5, 6-3, after overcoming a three-game deficit in the first set.
Grant defeated Princeton's Leena Benotto in straight sets, 7-6(5), 6-2, while Reasco continued to build on her freshman campaign by topping Princeton's Neha Velago in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.
Alee Clayton dropped a back-and-forth match in the third set to Princeton's Nathalie Rodilosso 6-2, 4-6, 6-0, while Ania Hertel and Mai Nirundorn fell in straight sets.
In doubles, all four Georgia teams dropped their first match of the day, but the Bulldogs bounced back in session two. The freshmen duo of Grant and Reasco topped Florida's Dudeney and Spee, 8-6. The tandem of Clayton and Ma defeated Princeton's Bennetto and Hu, 8-6, while Kowalski and Nirundorn beat Princeton's Schrage and Velago, 8-3.
"Today we did a good job bouncing back after a tough first round of doubles," said Georgia associate head coach Drake Bernstein. "We certainly had some bright spots in singles. Mell continued to learn and grow. Though she never had perfect rhythm, she still played a clean match mentally today."
"Guillermina showed a lot of fight also, coming back from being down 5-1 in the first set to win 7-6, 6-2," said Bernstein. "Also, Meg getting a top-20 win was rewarding to see - she has come a long way this fall, and I'm glad that her work showed today. Morgan also had a good comeback after trailing 5-2 in the first set. I'm proud of the way that she settled into the match and simplified things. Lea has continued to look more comfortable with her game as each week of the fall has gone by. We talked in the locker room about coming out tomorrow and showing the energy from the start of both singles and doubles, and look forward to the opportunity to do that against some tough competition."
The Bulldogs will be back in action Saturday, Oct. 23 for day two of the Georgia Invitation. Doubles is set to begin at 9:00 a.m. ET with singles play to follow.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Bulldogs by following UGA Women's Tennis on Twitter @UGAWomensTennis, on Instagram @UGAWomensTennis, and on Facebook @GeorgiaWomensTennis or check out information online at georgiadogs.com.
Doubles Session 1
Frayman/Joyce (PU) def. #42 Grant/Hertel (UGA) 8-6
Shvets/Rodilosso (PU) def. Coppoc/Ma (UGA) 8-6
Mattel/Sharma (UCF) def. Reasco/Kowalski (UGA) 8-6
Schrage/Velaga (PU) def. Clayton/Nirundorn (UGA) 8-7(3)
Doubles Session 2
Zeleva/Levashova (UCF) def. Hertel/Coppoc (UGA) 8-6
Grant/Reasco (UGA) def. Dudeney/Spee (UF) 8-6
Kowalski/Nirundorn (UGA) def. Schrage/Velago (PU) 8-3
Clayton/Ma (UGA) def. Bennetto/Hu (PU) 8-6
Singles Rotation 1
Daria Frayman (PU) def. Ania Hertel (UGA) 6-0, 6-1
#19 Lea Ma (UGA) def. Jaleesa Leslie (UCF) 6-3, 6-1
#15 Meg Kowalski (UGA) def. #20 Valeriya Zeleva (UCF) 6-3, 6-2
#66 Morgan Coppoc (UGA) def. Alicia Dudeney (UF) 7-5, 6-3
Singles Rotation 2
Mell Reasco (UGA) def. Neha Velaga (PU) 6-4, 6-3
Guillermina Grant (UGA) def. Leena Benotto (PU) 7-6(5), 6-2
Stephanie Schrage (PU) def. Mai Nirundorn (UGA) 6-2, 6-4
Nathalie Rodilosso (PU) def. Alee Clayton (UGA) 6-2, 4-6, 6-0
Players Mentioned
