ATHENS, Ga. — The No. 4-ranked Georgia women’s tennis team earned its first dual match victory of the season after sweeping South Florida 4-0 on the first day of the ITA Kickoff Weekend at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on Friday.
The result marks the first career coaching win for head coach Drake Bernstein as the Bulldogs (1-1) were sharp all day throughout singles and doubles play.
“I think that we had a great week of practice,” Bernstein said. “Everybody was really committed to the way they wanted to play, start to finish, today. I am really happy with how we finished in singles. We walked off those courts feeling better than we started.”
Georgia opened the match in dominant fashion from the get-go in doubles play. On court two, No. 15 Mai Nirundorn and Guillermina Grant opened their match strong and never wavered as they quickly closed out Rhea Makesar and Ireland Simme (USF) 6-0. In another convincing performance on court one, No. 58 Dasha Vidmanova and Aysegul Mert followed soon after with a 6-2 victory over Grace Schumaker and Nadja Bay Christians to earn the doubles point.
In singles play, the Bulldogs remained firm on the pedal on all courts. Grant shined bright on court five as she swept Gargi Pawar (USF) 6-0, 6-0 before No. 70 Anastasiia Lopata closed out a quick 6-1, 6-2 win over Marta Falceto Font on court four. Leading 3-0 with three Bulldogs on the brink of clinching the match, No. 108 Nirundorn closed out the victory for the Bulldogs with a 6-2, 6-0 win against Makesar on court six.
“I’m feeling good,” Nirundorn said. “Sorry, Dasha, for stealing match point. I couldn’t even see the score, so I guess I was lucky to clinch it out.”
Georgia will now advance to the ITA Kickoff Weekend championship match where it will face off against South Carolina on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 2:30 p.m. ET at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Live scoring and video for all matches can be found here.
ITA KICKOFF WEEKEND
Dates: Friday, Jan. 26 and Saturday, Jan. 27
Time: 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Location: Athens, Ga.
Venue: Dan Magill Tennis Complex
Live scoring/video: https://gado.gs/bag
Friday Singles Results
No. 30 Dasha Vidmanova (UGA) vs. Grace Schumacher (USF) 6-0, 5-1, unfinished
No. 35 Alexandra Vecic (UGA) vs. Melisa Senli (USF) 6-1, 4-3, unfinished
No. 116 Mell Reasco (UGA) vs. Kelly Vargas (USF) 7-5, 1-1, unfinished
No. 70 Anastasiia Lopata (UGA) def. Marta Falceto Font (USF) 6-1, 6-2
Guillermina Grant (UGA) def. Gargi Pawar (USF) 6-0, 6-0
No. 108 Mai Nirundorn (UGA) def. Rhea Makesar (USF) 6-2, 6-0
Friday Doubles Results
No. 58 Dasha Vidmanova/Aysegul Mert (UGA) def. Grace Schumacher/Nadia Bay Christians (USF) 6-2
No. 15 Guillermina Grant/Mai Nirundorn (UGA) def. Rhea Makesar/Ireland Simme (USF) 6-0
Alexandra Vecic/Mell Reasco (UGA) vs. Marta Falceto Font/Melisa Senli (USF) 5-3, unfinished
Match Notes
South Florida 1-1
No. 4 Georgia 1-1
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (5,4,6)
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.
