FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The No. 11 Georgia women’s tennis team capped off its first weekend of Southeastern Conference action with its second sweep in three days, as it defeated No. 43 Arkansas 4-0 at the Billingsley Tennis Center on Sunday.
The victory extends the Bulldogs’ (7-3, 2-0 SEC) winning streak to five matches, now improving to 35-3 all-time against the Razorbacks (7-5, 0-2 SEC) and winning each of the last 16 meetings between both programs.
“It was a good weekend for our team here in Missouri and Arkansas,” said head coach Drake Bernstein. “We had a clean performance today in some tough, windy conditions, putting solid performances in across the board.”
Opening the day with doubles, Georgia took the early lead by securing the doubles point in its sixth-consecutive match.
The No. 23 tandem of Mai Nirundorn and Guillermina Grant struck first as the duo made quick work on court two, defeating Lenka Stara and Grace O’Donnell (Arkansas) 6-1. The win extends the duo’s winning streak to six matches.
On court one, the No. 22 duo of Aysegul Mert and Dasha Vidmanova jumped out to a flying start as they led 5-0 early in the match. Despite a late surge from the opposition, Mert and Vidmanova held on to close out Morgan Cross and Anet Koskel (Arkansas) by a score of 6-3 to secure the doubles point for the Bulldogs.
Moving on to singles play, Georgia remained on the front foot early as it took five first sets across six courts.
On court three, No. 95 Anastasiia Lopata was dominant from start to finish. The Kiev, Ukraine-native recorded a bagel in the first set and showed quickness down the stretch en route to a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Lenka Stara (Arkansas).
Coming off a win in her dual singles debut at Missouri on Friday, Mert shined bright in her second-straight appearance in the lineup as she made quick work of Kacie Harvey (Arkansas) for a 6-3, 6-2 win on court five.
Three Bulldogs came within two games of securing the clincher, but it was No. 48 Alexandra Vecic who came through for the win on court two. After trailing 4-1 in the first set, Vecic came back to win a tiebreaker in the first followed by a strong second set to defeat Kelly Keller (Arkansas) 7-6(1), 6-2.
Georgia’s next action will see it return on the road for two matches on the East Coast, where it will face No. 19 Florida on Friday, Mar. 8 at 5 p.m. ET in Gainesville, Fla. followed by No. 14 South Carolina on Sunday, Mar. 10 at 1 p.m. ET in Columbia, S.C. The Bulldogs will compete against both the Gators and Gamecocks for a second time this season, previously knocking off South Carolina 4-1 in the ITA Kickoff Championship match while defeating Florida 4-1 in the first consolation round at the ITA DI Women’s National Team Indoor Championships.
No. 11 GEORGIA vs No. 19 FLORIDA
Date: Friday, Mar. 8
Time: 5 p.m. ET
Location: Gainesville, Fla.
Venue: Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex
Live Video/Scoring links will be provided closer to matchday.
No. 11 GEORGIA vs No. 14 SOUTH CAROLINA
Date: Sunday, Mar. 10
Time: 1 p.m. ET
Location: Columbia, S.C.
Venue: Carolina Tennis Center
Live Scoring: https://gado.gs/bhr
Live Video link will be provided closer to matchday.
Singles Results
No. 34 Dasha Vidmanova (UGA) vs No. 88 Carolina Gomez (ARK), 6-3, 4-5 (unfinished)
No. 48 Alexandra Vecic (UGA) def. Kelly Keller (ARK), 7-6 (7-1), 6-2
No. 95 Anastasiia Lopata (UGA) def. Lenka Stara (ARK), 6-0, 6-2
Guillermina Grant (UGA) vs Morgan Cross (ARK), 5-7, 5-3 (unfinished)
Aysegul Mert (UGA) def. Kacie Harvey (ARK), 6-3, 6-2
No. 89 Mai Nirundorn (UGA) vs Anet Koskel (ARK), 6-4, 5-3 (unfinished)
Doubles Results
No. 22 Aysegul Mert/Dasha Vidmanova (UGA) def. Morgan Cross/Anet Koskel (ARK), 6-3
No. 23 Guillermina Grant/Mai Nirundorn (UGA) def. Lenka Stara/Grace O’Donnell (ARK), 6-1
Mell Reasco/Alexandra Vecic (UGA) vs Kelly Keller/Carolina Gomez (ARK), 4-5 (unfinished)
Match Notes:
No. 11 Georgia (7-3, 2-0 SEC)
No. 43 Arkansas (7-5, 0-2 SEC)
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (3,5,2)
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Bulldogs by following UGA Women’s Tennis on X @UGAWomensTennis, on Instagram @UGAWomensTennis, and on Facebook @GeorgiaWomensTennis or check out information online at GeorgiaDogs.com.