The Georgia women’s tennis team kicked off their first matches of 2024 at the Michigan Invitational in Ann Arbor, Michigan on Jan. 12. Four Bulldogs clinched their singles matches, while two pairs found success in doubles.
To open singles play, No. 30 ITA-ranked Dasha Vidmanova defeated her No. 85 ITA-ranked opponent Luciana Perry from Ohio State. The junior from Prague had a dominant performance in straight sets and won her match 6-2, 6-1.
Junior Guillermina Grant followed Vidmanova with another win for the Bulldogs. Grant faced senior Madeline Atway from Ohio State, where Grant had a strong first set, winning 6-1. In the second set, she had a closer margin of victory but clinched the match with a 6-4 win.
Conversely, sophomore Haley Gaudette struggled throughout her match, losing consecutive sets 6-0, 6-0 to junior Dani Schoenly from Ohio State. Gaudette’s loss handed the Bulldogs their first loss of the day.
Junior Mai Nirundorn also struggled in consecutive sets against her freshman opponent Audrey Spencer from Ohio State. After losing the first set 6-3, Nirundorn set out to mount a two-set comeback against Spencer. However, Spencer came out victorious and handed Nirundorn another loss, 6-2.
Freshman Aysegul Mert was the next Bulldog to finish her match, and found success in two close sets for the Bulldogs, following two losses. Against fellow freshman opponent Alessia Cau from Ohio State, Mert pulled off a hard-fought win in a 7-6(6) tie-breaker in the first set. Looking to shut out her opponent, Mert closed the second set 7-5.
Despite sophomore Anastasiia Lopata’s 6-3 win in the first set, she fell short in both the second set and third set. Freshman opponent Teah Chavez from Ohio State had a strong performance in the second set, winning 6-4. In the third set, Chavez came out on top in a 6-2 win.
In the last singles match of the day, Junior Mell Reasco had a slow start, losing the first set 6-4. However, Reasco accomplished two wins in the second and third set to complete the comeback against Ohio State’s Sydni Ratliff 6-4, 6-4.
In doubles play, the freshman-junior pair of Mert and Vidmanova had an almost perfect performance against Kate Sharabura and Carol Lee from Georgia Tech. The pair shut down their opponents in a 6-1 win.
Grant and Nirundorn gave the Bulldogs another win against Kylie Bilchev and Alejandra Cruz from Georgia Tech. The pair had a smaller margin of victory but still advanced as a result of a 7-5 win.
The third doubles pair, consisting of Lopata and Reasco, did not have a successful match and fell short to Given Roach and Scarlett Nicholson, who won 6-1.
Mert and Vidamanova along with Grant and Nirundorn will advance in doubles while Vidmanova, Grant, Mert and Reasco will advance in singles to the second day of the Michigan Invitational on Jan. 13.