San Diego, Calif. — Juniors Mai Nirundorn and Guillermina Grant shined with victories in singles and doubles play as the Georgia women’s tennis team picked up four victories at the Torero Tennis Classic on Saturday at the Coronado Tennis Center.
In doubles action, the first match of the day saw the tandem of Grant and freshman Aysegul Mert faced off against Dariya Detkovskaya and Astrid Olsen (Washington). Grant and Mert set the tone early as they established a lead nearing the midway point of the set. Derkovskaya and Olsen pressed on to level the set, but momentum remained with the Bulldog duo as they pulled out to a 5-3 lead. Despite a late push to stay alive, Grant and Mert closed out the final point to secure the 6-3 victory.
Across the courts, Nirundorn and sophomore Anastasiia Lopata paired up to line up against Melissa Sakar and Erika Matsuda (Washington). The match posed a back-and-forth batte early inside the first five games as the Bulldogs held on to the slight lead. Pushing the score to a 5-3 match point, Nirundorn and Lopata finished the job to earn the 6-3 victory and secure Georgia’s second doubles victory of the morning.
In singles play, four Bulldogs competed on Saturday’s slate highlighted by a dominant performance from Nirundorn against Claudia De Las Heras (San Diego). An early jump propelled Nirundorn to lead nearing the midway point of the first set. Forcing De Las Heras to play from behind, Nirundorn made quick work to cap off the first set at 6-3. Heading into the second set, Nirundorn never looked back as she quickly reached a 5-2 lead before closing the match out in straight sets 6-3, 6-2.
Grant produced an efficient showing as she faced off against Detkovskaya for the second time on the day. The first set displayed a competitive battle between both girls as the score always held firm within two games. Leveled at 5-5, Grant sparked momentum to push and close out the final two games and earn the first set 7-5. Fueled by the first set battle, Grant jumped out to an early lead in the second set. Despite a late push by Dekovskaya to win three games, Grant finished the set to win 7-5, 6-3 and go 2-0 on the day.
Despite losses, Lopata and Mert competed in grueling matches that provided impressive displays from both Bulldogs. Taking on Nikki Redelijk (Pepperdine), Lopata picked up the pace early as both players jumped out to strong starts. Nearing a 5-5 score, both players picked up a sixth game to force a tiebreaker. The trend held the same into the final points of the tiebreaker, as Lopata fell just short 7-6(4) to trail by one set. In the second set, Lopata continued to battle as she held on to lead or trail only by one game. Pushing to take a lead late, momentum slipped away as Lopata fell in the set and match 7-6(4), 6-4.
Mert wrapped up Saturday’s action with a singles match against Mia Mack (San Diego). Both players set the tone for a tight first set as Mert trailed heading into the later stages. On the bring on leveling the set, Mert fell just short at 6-4 to trail by one set. In the second set, Mert flipped all momentum her way as she made quick work to secure a 6-2 set and level the match at 1-1. The third set saw a back-and-forth from the start as Mert found patched of brilliance to battle her way to a 6-6 score and force a tiebreaker. Despite early success, Mert ultimately fell in the tiebreaker and the match 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(4).
Matchups for the following rounds at the Torero Tennis Classic will be updated on the ITA live stats page here.
2023 TORERO TENNIS CLASSIC
Date: Friday, Nov. 3 through Sunday, Nov. 5
Location: San Diego, Calif.
Venue: Coronado Tennis Center
Live Stats: bit.ly/3s8I65u
Doubles Results: Saturday
Mai Nirundorn/Anastasiia Lopata (UGA) def. Melissa Sakar/Erika Matsuda (Washington) 6-3
Guillermina Grant/Aysegul Mert (UGA) def. Dariya Detkovskaya/Astrid Olsen (Washington) 6-3
Singles Results: Saturday
Mai Nirundorn (UGA) def. Claudia De Las Heras (San Diego) 6-3, 6-2
Guillermina Grant (UGA) def. Dariya Detkovskaya (Washington) 7-5, 6-3
Mia Mack (San Diego) def. Aysegul Mert (UGA) 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(4)
Nikki Redelijk (Pepperdine) def. Anastasiia Lopata (UGA) 7-6(4), 6-4
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.