Georgia Tennis: Lady Bulldogs Shut Out South Carolina

The No. 12 Georgia women’s tennis team closed its weekend with a 7-0 shutout over No. 32 South Carolina Sunday afternoon at the Carolina Tennis Center.

Georgia (11-2, 4-1) picked up its fourth SEC win of the season, and improved to 43-15 all-time versus the Gamecocks (8-7, 1-4).

“I thought we really played well,” said head coach Jeff Wallace. “Anytime that you go on the road in the SEC and win 7-0 you know that you played a good match. Silvia [Garcia] had a chance to play up at No. 1 and did great, and Kate [Fuller] played really high-caliber tennis. We got off to a good start with the doubles point, and really picked up our play when it got tight. Overall, it was a great day to be a Bulldog.”

Georgia claimed the early advantage after winning the doubles point. Lilly Kimbell and Mia King were first off the court with an 8-5 win over South Carolina’s Alex Martin and Elixane Lechemia. Georgia clinched the doubles point when Kate Fuller and Silvia Garcia, ranked third in the country, topped Josefin Andersson and Katerina Popova, 8-6. Fuller and Garcia remain undefeated this season. Sunday’s doubles point victory marked the 12^th time Georgia has clinched the all-important point this season.

Georgia won the first set on five of six courts before winning all six singles matches. On court 1, No. 77 Garcia gave Georgia a 2-0 advantage with a 6-1, 6-1 win over No. 102 Popova. Shorty after, Fuller, ranked No. 120 in the country, out did Kanakova, 6-2, 6-1. Georgia’s No. 17 Kowase clinched the match with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Lechemia. Kowase leads the team with three match clinches this spring.

With the match outcome decided, Georgia’s Kimbell outmatched Adriana Pereira 6-2, 6-2 to put Georgia up 5-0. Then King, who was forced to a 10-point tiebreak third set, outlasted Martin 6-2, 5-7, 1-0 (10-1). Craft completed the Georgia shutout with a 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (10-8) win against Andersson.

Sunday’s win marks the third 7-0 shutout by Georgia this season.

Georgia returns to the friendly confines of the Dan Magill Tennis Complex to host No. 13 Vanderbilt on Friday and No. 38 Kentucky on Sunday. First serve between Georgia and Vanderbilt will be at 4:00 p.m., and admission is free.

Singles

1. #77 Silvia Garcia, UGA, def. #102 Katerina Popova, USC, 6-1, 6-1

2. #17 Maho Kowase, UGA, def. Elixane Lechemia, USC, 6-1, 6-2

3. #120 Kate Fuller, UGA, def. Dominika Kanakova, USC, 6-2, 6-1

4. Makenzie Craft, UGA, def. Josefin Andersson, USC, 5-7, 6-3, (10-8)

5. Mia King, UGA, def. Alex Martin, USC, 6-2, 5-7, (10-1)

6. Lilly Kimbell, UGA, def. Adriana Pereira, USC, 6-2, 6-2

Doubles

1. #3 Fuller/Garcia, UGA, def. Andersson/Popova, USC, 8-6

2. Kanakova/Pereira, USC, vs. Craft/Kowase, UGA, 7-6 susp.

3. King/Kimbell, UGA, def. Lechemia/Martin, USC, 8-5