Univ. of Georgia Team Page
ATHENS, Ga. --- The No. 12 Georgia women's tennis team hits the road to take on No. 4 Florida (9-2, 2-1) and No. 32 South Carolina (8-5, 1-2) as it continues conference play.
The Bulldogs (10-1, 3-0) will square off with the Gators on Friday at 5:00 p.m., and the travel to take on the Gamecocks on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
Both host schools will be providing live scoring and links will be available on Georgiadogs.com. Additionally, on Sunday, live video will be offered by South Carolina.
MATCH NOTES
MATCH POINTS: Georgia (10-1, 3-0) hits the road to take on No. 4 Florida on Friday and No. 32 South Carolina on Sunday. The Bulldogs are the only undefeated team remaining in the SEC East. The next two matches will be Georgia's fourth and fifth in a nine-day period.
A LOOK AT THE OPPONENTS: Florida (9-2, 2-1) is coming off a 7-0 win over South Carolina last weekend. The Gators have five singles players ranked inside the Top-100, including Lauren Embree at No. 1. Embree and Oyen are ranked No. 23 in doubles. Florida has won 113 consecutive home matches, including 71 in the SEC-play. Interestingly enough, before the Gators lost to Texas A&M two weeks ago, Georgia was the last SEC team to beat them (2009 NCAA Championships).
South Carolina lost ot Florida last weekend and sits at 1-2 in conference play, but is getting ready to host four straight conferences matches. Jaklin Alawi (No. 78) and Katerina Popova (No. 102) lead the Gamecocks. Georgia is 42-15 all-time versus South Carolina, having gone 2-0 against them last season.
LAST TIME OUT: Georgia is 5-0 since National Team Indoors, having beaten No. 50 Ole Miss and Mississippi State last weekend before topping No. 15 Notre Dame on Tuesday. The Bulldogs lost only three matches in those match-ups combined.
TOP DOGS: Georgia is No. 12 in the latest ITA team poll, and has four ranked singles players and three ranked doubles pairs. Sophomore Lauren Herring and junior Maho Kowase anchor the top of the Bulldog lineup. Herring, who earned SEC Freshman of the Year honors in 2012, is ranked seventh nationally sporting a 27-4 record this year. The 17th-ranked Kowase has a 26-7 record. Freshman Silvia Garcia (No. 77) and junior Kate Fuller (No. 120) have been playing in the three and four spots. Fuller is 20-5 this year while Garcia is 13-1 and the winner of eight straight.
In doubles, Fuller and Garcia, who are 12-0 this season, improved to the No. 3 spot in the latest ITA rankings. Fuller is also ranked with Herring (No. 27). Kowase and Lilly Kimbell are ranked No. 50 with a 9-3 record.
KEEPING IT FRESH: Three freshmen have had stellar starts to their Bulldog careers. After ITA National Team Indoors, Silvia Garcia was named to the All-Tournament Team and garnered SEC women's tennis Freshman of the Week honors. She now sports a 13-1 record in singles and a 12-0 in doubles record. She came in at No. 3 in the ITA Top-60 doubles rankings with junior Kate Fuller and improves 20 sports to No. 77 in the latest singles rankings.
The freshmen duo of Mia King and Makenzie Craft have teamed up in doubles and have been solid at the No. 3 spot, going 2-1, including a dominating 8-0 win against Mississippi State. The duo has also been clutch in singles on courts 5 and 6. King has clinched two matches for Georgia at No. 5 while compiling a 6-2 record. Craft picked up her first match clincher last Sunday, and is 6-1 so far this spring.
SPRING BREAK?: As most of the UGA campus has left Athens for spring break, the Georgia women's tennis team will play five matches over the nine days, including four teams in the Top-50.
ON DECK: Georgia will return home to host Vanderbilt on Friday at 4:00 p.m. and Kentucky on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
FOLLOWING GEORGIA WOMEN'S TENNIS: Fans are able to follow each match through a live blog on Georgiadogs.com. See the website for more details.
After the match, fans can check Georgiadogs.com for post-match highlights and interviews. Fans can also "Like" Georgia Women's Tennis on Facebook and follow @UGAWomensTennis on Twitter for bonus exclusive content.
