Georgia Womens Tennis Plays For a Spot in the NCAA Title Match

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The Georgia womens tennis team beat Stanford to advance to the semi-finals of the NCAA Women’s Tennis Championship

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The Georgia women’s tennis team (24-6) will play for a spot in the NCAA Championship match Monday against UCLA. The sixth seeded Lady Dawgs beat Stanford 4-1 to reach the semi-finals for the first time since 2008.

“I’m super proud of this team,” head coach Jeff Wallace said to Georgiadogs.com. “They’ve worked hard and learned a lot this year and are applying everything that we’ve taught them and they’ve learned. We’re excited to be where we’re at and are looking forward to more action.”

The Waco weather again affected play, forcing the match indoors to the Baylor Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center. Georgia took command early when the number 11 ranked pair of senior Lauren Herring and freshman Ellen Perez beat the nation’s second rank doubles duo of Carol Zhao and Taylor Davidson 8-2 on court 1. Sophomore Caroline Brinson and Hannah King then won 8-2 over Krista Hardebeck and Lindsey Kostas on court 3 to give Goergia the doubles point.

“Those were some great matches,” said Wallace. “It was some of the best doubles we’ve played this year. It was unbelievable tennis getting played out there and it really gave us a lot of momentum.”

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Junior Silvia Garcia dominated on court 3, winning 6-2, 6-2 to keep the Dawgs in control. After Ellen Perez’s loss on court 2, freshman Hannah King won 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 on court 5. Shaffer then clinched with a win on court 4.

Georgia faces a UCLA team that the Bulldogs beat 4-2 in the quarterfinals of the ITA National Indoor Team Championships earlier this season. Perez, King, and Brinson all picked up singles wins that day, while the tandems of Garcia-Shaffer and King-Brinson took doubles victories.

“I think both teams have had a lot of matches and experiences since we last met,” said Wallace. “It was a great match for us that day to play well and win, but we know that the semis tomorrow is a different match. I expect them to come out and play great tennis just like I expect our team to. It should be an epic battle.”

The Lady Dawgs are 8-4 all-time against UCLA, including a 1-0 record against them in the NCAA Championships. The last time the Bulldogs won an NCAA semifinal match they went on to win the championship in 2000.

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