University of Georgia Athletics
'I Don’t Think I’ll Forget That Match Ever'
March 18, 2024 | Women's Tennis, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Dasha Vidmanova was standing tall and proud by court six at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on Sunday afternoon. The 6-foot-3 Georgia junior, fresh off a marathon singles win over the No. 1 player in the country Friday night, followed by a dominant victory two days later, wore the weary smile of someone both very happy and very ready to crash on the nearest couch.
"I don't think I'll forget that match ever," she said of Friday's three-set win against Texas A&M's Mary Stoiana. "There are going to be a lot of times that I'm thinking about it and looking back at it because it was, I've never experienced that. The emotions and the way that I came back."
"It's two days later," Georgia coach Drake Bernstein said, "and I still don't know that I have really a good way of describing that one other than, I've never seen anything like it. I've never seen somebody dig that deep with a match on the line."
The Sunday win, a 6-1, 6-2 dispatching of LSU's Aran Teixido Garcia at No. 1 singles, was just what Vidmanova needed — short and sweet. It came after Vidmanova and Aysegul Mert quickly dispatched LSU's Kenna Erickson and Anita Sahdieva, 6-0, to help the No. 10-ranked Bulldogs earn the doubles point and go into singles play with a 1-0 lead. Georgia eventually cruised to a 4-0 win, its 44th straight victory over the Tigers.
In three sets played Sunday, Vidmanova, ranked No. 29 in singles, surrendered just three games. Given what happened less than 48 hours earlier, the LSU match couldn't have gone much better for her physically.
"Today I wasn't, obviously, 100% recovered, but I just tried to give my best and have a positive mindset and do all I can with my current physical level. And I think I did pretty good," she said.
Given Friday night's drama, which ended about 10 p.m., Sunday could easily have been a letdown for Vidmanova and the whole team. Bernstein said the players deserved a ton of credit for coming out to Saturday's practice ready to move on and prepare for LSU.
"We didn't look like a team that was satisfied with a great win the night before," he said.
Playing its first home match in about a month Friday, against No. 14 Texas A&M, Georgia was in a battle from the beginning. Nearly five hours later, it was Vidmanova, long after all of the other matches had been completed, that delivered the clinching victory in a hard-fought 4-3 win for the Bulldogs. But this wasn't just any singles win.
"Dasha's a competitor. We see that. She practices hard, she competes in practice, so it's no crazy surprise that she had that in her; it was just a lot stacked against her," Bernstein said. "To be able to dig from 5-1 down (in the third set) against any player is tough, much less the No. 1 player in the country."
Facing the top-ranked Stoiana, Vidmanova got off to a strong start, taking the first set 6-4. Late in the second, she was a point away from sealing the deal in straight sets, but Stoiana was not only able to rally and take the second set in a tiebreaker, the Aggie was able to roll into the third set with all of the momentum. And to make matters worse for Vidmanova, she started cramping, as well.
Six games into the third set, Stoiana led 5-1, and Vidmanova and the Bulldogs were in deep trouble. But one of the greatest things about tennis is that there is no clock. A player in the lead can't just bide their time until the whistle blows. No, the players have to close out their wins on the court, which can bring about a different kind of nerves and pressure, especially if the opponent is a little physically compromised.
So there Vidmanova was, down 5-1 and feeling far from her best. So naturally she reeled off four straight games to draw even at 5-all. The crowd was roaring, her teammates were going out of their minds watching from court two, and Vidmanova and the Bulldogs were right back in it.
Vidmanova and Stoiana soon found themselves in a deciding tiebreaker. Serving for the match up 6-5, Vidmanova and Stoiana exchanged a few groundstrokes from the baseline. Vidmanova chased down a ball far to her forehand side, chased down another one, came into net on a short ball, and then watched as Stoiana's passing shot went into the net.
"The third set Friday, honestly, I don't remember much happening. I was just kind of playing every ball and trying to focus on the present moment," she said.
The endless match was over, 6-4, 6-7 (10), 7-6 (5) to Vidmanova, who let out a primal scream as she pumped her fists. Behind her, Bernstein went from applauding to falling off his bench, overcome by what he'd witnessed.
"When she finally converted on that match point, seeing that for her, it just makes you happy. You love to see that kind of effort get rewarded with a win," he said.
Meanwhile, Vidmanova went from being alone on the court to surrounded by all of her teammates, everyone screaming at the top of their lungs.
"Everyone being there and running at me at the end, that was very special," she said.
As she walked to the net to shake hands with Stoiana, Vidmanova looked like a boxer who had somehow survived a 12-round bout, ending it with a unexpected knockout punch. She then somehow found the energy to run along behind her teammates and high-five a long line of fans who were still roaring and applauding what they'd just witnessed.
Why do we get so caught up in sports? That's why we get so caught up in sports.
"It was very special," Vidmanova said. "I don't necessarily think that the tennis was the best level ever, but definitely everything else — the emotions, the fight, the competitiveness — it was all very special."
Staff Writer
Dasha Vidmanova was standing tall and proud by court six at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on Sunday afternoon. The 6-foot-3 Georgia junior, fresh off a marathon singles win over the No. 1 player in the country Friday night, followed by a dominant victory two days later, wore the weary smile of someone both very happy and very ready to crash on the nearest couch.
"I don't think I'll forget that match ever," she said of Friday's three-set win against Texas A&M's Mary Stoiana. "There are going to be a lot of times that I'm thinking about it and looking back at it because it was, I've never experienced that. The emotions and the way that I came back."
"It's two days later," Georgia coach Drake Bernstein said, "and I still don't know that I have really a good way of describing that one other than, I've never seen anything like it. I've never seen somebody dig that deep with a match on the line."
The Sunday win, a 6-1, 6-2 dispatching of LSU's Aran Teixido Garcia at No. 1 singles, was just what Vidmanova needed — short and sweet. It came after Vidmanova and Aysegul Mert quickly dispatched LSU's Kenna Erickson and Anita Sahdieva, 6-0, to help the No. 10-ranked Bulldogs earn the doubles point and go into singles play with a 1-0 lead. Georgia eventually cruised to a 4-0 win, its 44th straight victory over the Tigers.
In three sets played Sunday, Vidmanova, ranked No. 29 in singles, surrendered just three games. Given what happened less than 48 hours earlier, the LSU match couldn't have gone much better for her physically.
"Today I wasn't, obviously, 100% recovered, but I just tried to give my best and have a positive mindset and do all I can with my current physical level. And I think I did pretty good," she said.
Given Friday night's drama, which ended about 10 p.m., Sunday could easily have been a letdown for Vidmanova and the whole team. Bernstein said the players deserved a ton of credit for coming out to Saturday's practice ready to move on and prepare for LSU.
"We didn't look like a team that was satisfied with a great win the night before," he said.
Playing its first home match in about a month Friday, against No. 14 Texas A&M, Georgia was in a battle from the beginning. Nearly five hours later, it was Vidmanova, long after all of the other matches had been completed, that delivered the clinching victory in a hard-fought 4-3 win for the Bulldogs. But this wasn't just any singles win.
"Dasha's a competitor. We see that. She practices hard, she competes in practice, so it's no crazy surprise that she had that in her; it was just a lot stacked against her," Bernstein said. "To be able to dig from 5-1 down (in the third set) against any player is tough, much less the No. 1 player in the country."
Facing the top-ranked Stoiana, Vidmanova got off to a strong start, taking the first set 6-4. Late in the second, she was a point away from sealing the deal in straight sets, but Stoiana was not only able to rally and take the second set in a tiebreaker, the Aggie was able to roll into the third set with all of the momentum. And to make matters worse for Vidmanova, she started cramping, as well.
Six games into the third set, Stoiana led 5-1, and Vidmanova and the Bulldogs were in deep trouble. But one of the greatest things about tennis is that there is no clock. A player in the lead can't just bide their time until the whistle blows. No, the players have to close out their wins on the court, which can bring about a different kind of nerves and pressure, especially if the opponent is a little physically compromised.
So there Vidmanova was, down 5-1 and feeling far from her best. So naturally she reeled off four straight games to draw even at 5-all. The crowd was roaring, her teammates were going out of their minds watching from court two, and Vidmanova and the Bulldogs were right back in it.
Vidmanova and Stoiana soon found themselves in a deciding tiebreaker. Serving for the match up 6-5, Vidmanova and Stoiana exchanged a few groundstrokes from the baseline. Vidmanova chased down a ball far to her forehand side, chased down another one, came into net on a short ball, and then watched as Stoiana's passing shot went into the net.
"The third set Friday, honestly, I don't remember much happening. I was just kind of playing every ball and trying to focus on the present moment," she said.
The endless match was over, 6-4, 6-7 (10), 7-6 (5) to Vidmanova, who let out a primal scream as she pumped her fists. Behind her, Bernstein went from applauding to falling off his bench, overcome by what he'd witnessed.
"When she finally converted on that match point, seeing that for her, it just makes you happy. You love to see that kind of effort get rewarded with a win," he said.
Meanwhile, Vidmanova went from being alone on the court to surrounded by all of her teammates, everyone screaming at the top of their lungs.
"Everyone being there and running at me at the end, that was very special," she said.
As she walked to the net to shake hands with Stoiana, Vidmanova looked like a boxer who had somehow survived a 12-round bout, ending it with a unexpected knockout punch. She then somehow found the energy to run along behind her teammates and high-five a long line of fans who were still roaring and applauding what they'd just witnessed.
Why do we get so caught up in sports? That's why we get so caught up in sports.
"It was very special," Vidmanova said. "I don't necessarily think that the tennis was the best level ever, but definitely everything else — the emotions, the fight, the competitiveness — it was all very special."
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
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