Georgia Falls Against Texas, 4-3, in Austin

AUSTIN, Texas — The No. 4 Georgia women’s tennis team fell 4-3 in a tightly contested battle against No. 10 Texas on the road at the Weller Indoor Tennis Center on Sunday.

Starting off the day with doubles action, the Bulldogs (2-2) showcased an even competition early on all courts before the Longhorns (4-1) pulled away to secure the doubles point. On court three, the duo of Mell Reasco and Alexandra Vecic battled to erase an early deficit, coming up just short in several games before ultimately falling 6-1 to Charlotte Chavatipon and Vivian Ovrootsky (Texas).

Opening to an even-contested start on court one, momentum swayed opposite late as the No. 58 tandem of Aysegul Mert and Dasha Vidmanova fell 6-3 to Sabina Zeynalova and Taisiya Pachkaleva (Texas).

In singles play, the Bulldogs picked up the pace with five first set wins through six matches. On court six, No. 108 Mai Nirundorn provided a spark for Georgia as she leveled the team score at 1-1 after knocking off Ovrootsky (Texas) 6-4, 6-3 in straight sets. Nirundorn’s victory marked her third consecutive straight-set win in dual matches this season.

No. 30 Vidmanova followed shortly with her own outstanding performance, as the Prague, Czech Republic-native was stellar and produced strong runs en route to earning her third ranked win of the season after defeating No. 20 Tanya Sasnouskaya (Texas) 6-3, 6-3 on court two.

Despite results on courts three, four and five clinching Texas the win at 4-2, both sides finished the final match on court one where No. 35 Vecic defeated Zeynalova (Texas) 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(4).

The Bulldogs will now prepare to go on the road once again as they will compete in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships on Feb. 9-12 in Seattle, Wash. Georgia will aim to make another run for the title after finishing runners-up in last season’s edition of the tournament while last winning the competition in 2019.

Singles Results

No. 35 Alexandra Vecic (UGA) def. Sabina Zeynalova (Texas) 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4)

No. 30 Dasha Vidmanova (UGA) def. No. 20 Tanya Sasnouskaya (Texas) 6-3, 6-3

No. 45 Malaika Rapolu (Texas) def. No. 116 Mell Reasco (UGA) 7-6 (8-6), 7-5

No. 106 Charlotte Chavatipon (Texas) def. No. 70 Anastasiia Lopata (UGA) 1-6, 6-1, 6-2

Taisiya Pachkaleva (Texas) def. Guillermina Grant (UGA) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3

No. 108 Mai Nirundorn (UGA) def. Vivian Ovrootsky (Texas) 6-4, 6-3

Doubles Results

Sabina Zeynalova/Taisiya Pachkaleva (Texas) def. No. 58 Aysegul Mert/Dasha Vidmanova (UGA) 6-3

Malaika Rapolu/Tanya Sasnouskaya (Texas) vs. No. 15 Guillermina Grant/Mai Nirundorn (UGA) 2-5, unfinished

Charlotte Chavatipon/Vivian Ovrootsky (Texas) def. Mell Reasco/Alexandra Vecic (UGA) 6-1

Match Notes

No. 4 Georgia 2-2

No. 10 Texas 4-1

Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (6,2,4,3,5,1)

Tony Walsh