The Georgia men's and women's tennis teams hosted the first two rounds of NCAA tournament action this weekend and emerged victorious. Both teams advance to the Rounds of 16, when all teams still standing converge on Athens and the Dan Magill Tennis Complex to battle for the NCAA Championships starting on 17 May for the women and 18 May for the men.
Your sixth-seeded UGA women's team made it through the weekend by defeating the College of Charleston 4-0 Friday and edging Clemson 4-3 on Saturday. The second-seeded men blanked South Carolina State 4-0 on Saturday and beat FSU 4-1 Sunday in a match played indoors due to rain.
The NCAA tennis tournament brackets have been announced, and the Georgia women’s tennis team earned an at-large berth as the No. 6 national seed. The Bulldog ladies, who are seeking their third national championship and their eleventh "final four" appearance in their 26th straight trip to the tourney, will host the first and second rounds in Athens. The distaff netters begin their postseason journey against the College of Charleston next Friday, May 11, and will compete against the Cougars for the right to face the winner of the Arizona State-Clemson matchup. The women’s bracket is available in .pdf format here.
On the opposite side of the gender divide, the Georgia men’s tennis team earned the No. 2 national seed and also will host the regional round at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. The Bulldog gents are seeking their third straight semifinal appearance, their fourth trip to the finals in a seven-year span, and their seventh national championship. The Red and Black’s trek begins against S.C. State on Saturday, May 12, with Boise State and Florida State joining both sets of Bulldogs in the Classic City. The men’s bracket may be downloaded here.
Go ‘Dawgs!
Georgia's men's and women's teams marched through the SEC Tennis Tournaments this weekend and both played for titles yesterday. The men defeated top-seeded Kentucky 4-1 to claim the championship. The women fell to top-seeded Florida, 4-1, and forgive me, but that's all I can bring myself to say about that, except you should check out the georgiadogs.com recap to see it really was a competitive match.
This is UGA's 8th SEC tournament title in men's tennis, bringing Georgia's SEC tennis championship tally (including both regular season and tournament titles) to 34. No one else in the conference comes anywhere close to the success the Bulldogs have had on the courts.* The thrilling tale of vengeance after the jump.
Well, friends, the tennis regular season has come to an end on Saturday with both the men's and women's teams notching victories over the Tennessee Volunteers. The men avenged last year's home loss to the defending 2011 SEC champions by dominating the Vols 7-0. The women celebrated Senior Day in Athens, honoring Chelsea Gullickson and Nadja Gilchrist, by accepting the Lady Vols' forfeit. Intercollegiate Tennis Association rules require a team to have four able players to participate in dual-match play, and with three Vols injured and a fourth stricken with illness Friday night, the seven-woman roster was too depleted to participate. The UGA victory goes in the record books as 7-0 by default.
Both the UGA men's and women's teams had strong seasons. The men finished up with the second-best conference record at 10-1, behind SEC champs Kentucky (11-0) to whom we offer our congratulations. With an over-all record of 20-2, the Dawgs' only losses came to the SEC champions and the number one team in the nation, Southern California. At press time, Georgia is ranked fourth with new ITA rankings to be released later today.
The ladies wrapped up the regular season with a 9-2 conference record, good for third behind champions Florida and runners-up Bama. Those two teams represent the Bulldogs' only conference losses, and the loss to Cal back in February's National Team Indoor Championship quarterfinals were the only blemishes on a 19-3 record.
Well, friends, we're quickly approaching the end of the regular tennis season, which wraps up this coming Saturday, 14 April, against Tennessee: women in Athens; men in Knoxville. It was a big weekend for both teams with victories against major rivals, but the women did not escape unscathed.
Friday, the Crimson Tide women's team came to Athens and upset the Dawgs 4-3 while the UGA men were in Tuscaloosa notching a 5-2 win over the Bama hosts. Sunday, the ladies stayed in Athens to host Auburn while the men travelled to the so-called Loveliest Village. Both Bulldog teams soundly defeated the Plainspeople 6-1.
Happy Cruellest Month, everybody! Well. Our friends in the Bluegrass State Commonwealth have had quite a week for themselves, haven't they? Not only did Kentucky win the baseball series with Georgia this weekend, taking yesterday's rubber match in dramatic fashion, but they also defeated UGA in men's tennis 4-3 on Friday in Athens to claim sole possession of first place in the conference standings. And yeah, that other thing. The Wildcat women didn't fare as well against the UGA women's tennis team, suffering a 7-0 shutout in Lexington.
Sunday's tennis matches featured meetings with Vandy: the UGA women escaped Nashville with a 4-3 win, while the Bulldog men dominated the Commodores in the Classic City 7-0.
For what it means, how it happened, and what's up next, click on through.
Georgia men's and women's tennis teams have been busy. Cumulatively, they played five matches in five days and won all five. Both the men and women improved their conference tallies with wins over Arkansas and LSU, and the men scored an upset of the second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.
Times are good for our netters. What it means and how it went down after the jump.
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Coffee is for Hernus Pieters. via redandblack.com |
We interrupt the Handwringing of the Day regarding a certain cornerback's allegedly questionable activities in Henry County (DANG, KING! HEADS UP, BRO!) to bring you news from the nets. As loyal Dawg Sports friend and reader Vietnam Dawg shared yesterday afternoon, the men's tennis team had another close SEC win as they beat visiting Ole Miss 4-3 in a thriller that came down to the wire. The women had an easier time in Oxford, handing the Rebels a 5-2 loss. |
Yesterday's men's victory keeps them on top of the SEC East standings at 4-0 (13-1 over all, ranked 6th nationally), but 7th-ranked Kentucky is keeping pace, likewise improving to 4-0 in conference play with the Wildcats' 4-3 win over No. 9 Florida. You may recall that UGA defeated the Gators by an identical score last weekend. The 30 March meeting between the 'Dogs and 'Cats in Athens is shaping up to be a big one. Last year, Georgia narrowly defeated Kentucky 4-3 during the regular season but fell to the Wildcats 4-0 in the SEC tournament. This will be a match to see, so make plans to attend if you can.
The ladies, meanwhile, held onto second place in the division, still tied with Vandy at 3-1 in the SEC thanks to the Commodores' Sunday win over South Carolina and behind Florida's first-place position. The Gators could knot things up in a three-way tie by losing to Kentucky in a match delayed from yesterday due to rain. Seriously, isn't it time to cancel all outdoor sports in the state of Florida (WLOCP and just a few football bowl games excepted, of course)? It just seems like at least one of three times the Braves visit the Marlins there's a rain delay. But I digress. Anyway, don't hold your breath while expecting the Gators to suffer their first loss to 0-3 Kentucky.
A few details of yesterday's matches after the jump.
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