Univ. of Georgia Team Page
ATHENS, Ga.—The No. 5 Georgia women’s tennis team picked up its sixth conference win of the season, dominating No. 46 Kentucky 7-0 Sunday afternoon at the Lindsay Hopkins Indoor Courts.
The match was played indoors due to rain Sunday morning in the Athens area.
“I felt like our doubles today was the first time where all three teams came out and played at an extremely hjigh level from start to finish,” said head coach Jeff Wallace. “At this point in the season, that’s what you want to see. We’ve worked hard on our doubles and thought that we really set the tone for the entire match. We started strong in singles and finished the match well. Overall, it was a really great day for us.”
Georgia (13-2, 6-1) gained early momentum with an overpowering doubles performance on all three courts. Georgia’s third ranked duo of Kate Fuller and Silvia Garcia beat Jessica Stiles and Caitlin McGraw of Kentucky, 8-0. Maho Kowase and Lauren Herring clinched the doubles point with an 8-2 win over Kentucky’s CeCe Witten and Edmee Morin. The pair is now 6-1 and the winner of five in a row. Makenzie Craft and Lilly Kimbell were leading 6-1 over Nadia Ravita and Khristina Blajkevitch when their match was suspended.
In singles, Fuller, ranked 120th in the country, gave Georgia a 2-0 advantage after quickly beating Kentucky’s Kirsten Lewis, 6-2, 6-0. Fuller has won five in a row. Next Herring, ranked seventh nationally, notched her 29th win of the year, beating 38th-ranked Ravita 6-3, 6-3. The loss is only Ravita’s third of the year. Shortly after, Garcia clinched the match with a 7-5, 6-0 win. Garcia, who trailed 5-2 in the first set, won 11 straight games to finish the match. The match clincher is Garcia’s third of the spring. Kowase, ranked 17th, followed with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 win over the Wildcats’ Stiles to bring the score to 5-0. Georgia closed out the day and completed the shutout with wins at Nos. 5 and 6. Kimbell beat Fox 6-0, 6-4, and King beat McGraw 7-6 (5), 6-1.
Georgia improves to 31-10 all-time versus Kentucky, including 15-3 in Athens.
Georgia will make its first visit to Columbia, Mo. to take on No.59 Missouri on Friday before traveling to College Station, Texas to play No. 3 Texas A&M on Sunday.
Mar 24, 2013 at Athens, Ga.
#5 Georgia 7, #46 Kentucky 0
Singles competition
1. #7 Lauren Herring (UGA) def. #38 Nadia Ravita (UK) 6-3, 6-3
2. #17 Maho Kowase (UGA) def. Jessica Stiles (UK) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
3. #77 Silvia Garcia (UGA) def. Edmee Morin-Kougouch (UK) 7-5, 6-0
4. #120 Kate Fuller (UGA) def. Kirsten Lewis (UK) 6-2, 6-0
5. Mia King (UGA) def. Caitlin McGraw (UK) 7-6 (7-5), 6-1
6. Lilly Kimbell (UGA) def. Stephanie Fox (UK) 6-0, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #3 Kate Fuller/Silvia Garcia (UGA) def. Jessica Stiles/Caitlin McGraw (UK) 8-0
2. Lauren Herring/Maho Kowase (UGA) def. Edmee Morin-Kougouch/CeCe Witten (UK) 8-2
3. Makenzie Craft/Lilly Kimbell (UGA) vs. Nadia Ravita/Khristina Blajkevitc (UK) 6-1, unfinished
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (4,1,3,2,6,5)
Georgia 13-2 (6-1); Kentucky 12-7 (3-5)
Match played indoors due to rain.