No. 3 Bulldogs Blank North Florida 5-0

Friday, January 28

Athens, Ga.

2:00 PM

University of Georgia

North Florida

January 28, 2022 | Women's Tennis

Box Score

ATHENS, Ga. – Third-ranked Georgia blanked North Florida 5-0 in an ITA Kickoff event held Friday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

The Bulldogs (1-0) will face Mississippi State (4-0) Saturday at 2 p.m., and the winner advances to the ITA National Indoor Team Championships, which will be Feb. 11-14 in Madison, Wis.

On Friday, Georgia captured the doubles point and swept four singles matches in straight sets. In doubles, the No. 3 team of Meg Kowalski and Guillermina Grant shut out Ana Paula Melilo and Kendall Nash 6-0. Then, Morgan Coppoc and Mell Reasco clinched the point with a 6-3 victory over Summer Yardley and Anslee Long. The Coppoc/Reasco pair are now 6-1 this season while Kowalski/Grant are 3-1.

In singles, the Bulldogs got wins from junior Ania Hertel plus freshmen Reasco and Dasha Vidmanova to clinch the win over the Ospreys. Hertel, ranked No. 78, cruised past Long 6-2,6-1 in the No. 4 match for a 2-0 lead. Reasco, ranked No. 11, dispatched Annabelle Davis 6-0,6-1 at No. 3 for a 3-0 advantage. Hertel is 8-2 on the year while Reasco has a team-leading 13-3 mark. Vidmanova was making her Bulldog debut and beat Yardley 6-2,6-3 in the No. 2 match. In the featured match at No. 1, Georgia's Lea Ma upset No. 32 Kit Guilhur 6-2, 6-4 to make it 5-0. Ma is now 7-4 this season.

"It was great to get out here and play," said Georgia head coach Jeff Wallace. "We had a really impressive doubles point. Meg (Kowalski) and Gigi (Guillermina Grant) just played lights out. We got that doubles point and the Top-4 rolled in singles. It's a great start for our team. It's a long year and there are a lot of things we have to work on, things we have to do, but it's always nice to get that first win under your belt. We have four freshmen and for them to get out here and get experience is really important. Now we have a big SEC match tomorrow against Mississippi State. We are looking forward to that. We'll have to really bring it."

MSU beat Iowa 4-1 in the first match of the day here to earn the right to face the Bulldogs. Meanwhile, North Florida (0-2) and Iowa (2-1) will square off in a consolation match Saturday at 10 a.m.

With its latest victory, Georgia improved to 23-0 all-time when playing host to an ITA Kickoff event.