Georgia women’s tennis falls short in doubles finals at ITA Southeast Regional Championships | Georgia Sports

Georgia senior Guillermina Grant and her sophomore doubles partner Aysegul Mert fell in the doubles final of the ITA Southeast Regional Championships. Mert and Grant faced Florida’s Rachel Gailis and Alicia Dudeney and fought their way through a tiebreaker match, but ultimately failed.

Dudeney and Gailis won a close first set 7:5. Mert and Grant had a strong second set, winning 6-2 to force a tiebreak, but Gailis and Dudeney took the singles title after a 10-6 win in the third set.

To advance to the final, Mert and Grant won their match in consecutive sets, 6-4, 6-0, against UCF’s Olivia Lincer and Hannah Rylatt.

The first day of the ITA Southeast Regional Championships saw three Bulldogs compete in the qualifying round of 32. Freshman Hayden Mulberry earned Georgia’s only win of the day against Georgia Southern’s Amelie Rosadoro. Mulberry had a dominant first set with a 6-1 win. She won her match with a 6-4 victory in the second set.

Freshman Sarah Branicki faced Mary Boyce of Florida State in her singles match. Branicki failed in the first set 6-3 and was unable to stage a comeback against Boyce in the second set, losing 2-6.

Sophomore Tatum Buffington played in her second tournament of the season but was unable to beat Georgia State’s Sara Radojevic. In the first set, Buffington lost 6-2. In the second set, Radojevic and Buffington held the set close, but in the end Radojevic won 7:5. Georgia Southern’s Mackenzie Leopold also defeated junior Haley Gaudette in a walkover.

The main draw began on the second day of the tournament, with the Bulldogs securing six wins. The duo of Sofia Rojas and Mulberry won their doubles match 8-6 against Terezia Barianakova and Laura Nadaska of Kennesaw State.

In singles, No. 106 Rojas delivered a strong match against Anslee Long of North Florida. In the first set, Rojas won 6-2. Rojas secured her place in the main round of the last 32 after a 6-3 win in the second set.

No. 75 Grant had two close sets against Aryana Bartlett of North Florida but still managed to secure a win. Grant fought to win the first set 7-6(1), stayed focused and won the second set 7-5.

No. 95 Mert continued the Bulldogs’ winning streak, defeating Florida State’s Eva Shaw in consecutive sets, 6-2, 6-4. Mulberry completed the day’s main round singles match with a 7-5, 6-2 win over No. 51 Kylie Bilchev of Georgia Tech.

In the qualifying and consolidation round of the last 32, Nadaska defeated Buffington 6-4, 6-0. In the qualifying consolidation round of 16, Sarah Branicki defeated Maya Shanok of Florida Atlantic 6-1, 1-0 [retired].

On day three, doubles partners Mert and Grant advanced to the main round of 32 and defeated UCF’s Jade Psonka and Olivia Bergler 8-6. Mulberry and Rojas combined to secure their second doubles victory of the tournament after a hard-fought 8-7(8) win over UCF’s Aya El Aouni and Sophia Biolay.

In singles, Rojas defeated No. 106 Jaquelyn Ogunwale of Miami 6-2, 6-2. No. 75 Grant had a dominant performance, defeating Emilia Cosatto of Mercer 6-0, 6-0. No. 94 Mert became the final Bulldog to advance to the round of 16 of the main draw after defeating Georgia Tech’s Scarlett Nicholson 6-2, 6-4. Mulberry was eliminated from the main draw after a bye against Pskona.

The Bulldogs managed a quick turnaround from the Round of 32 onwards as the Round of 16 continued on the same day. Grant had another strong performance, defeating No. 117 Kate Sharabura of Georgia Tech 6-0, 6-1. Grant, along with Mert, reached the quarterfinals of the main round after defeating FIU’s Valery Gynina 6-3, 6-3.

Rojas was eliminated from the main draw after a loss to Quadre Oyinlomo of FIU. Rojas struggled in the first set but ultimately lost 7-6 (8) and was unable to gain momentum in the second set. Oyinlomo secured the win with a 6-1 second set win over Rojas.

On the fourth day, both doubles duos got off to a strong start in the round of 16. Mert and Grant quickly won 8-2 against Bilchev and Meera Jesuason of Georgia Tech. Rojas and Mulberry also reached the quarterfinals after an 8-2 win over North Florida’s Laurie Barendse and Anslee Long.

In the quarterfinals, Mulberry and Rojas’ double-header in the tournament ended after an 8-5 loss to Florida’s Rachel Gailis and Alicia Dudeney. Mert and Grant had an exceptional game against No. 1 seeds Maria Juliana Parra Romero and Amelia Bissett of Florida State to advance to the semifinals.

In the singles quarterfinals, Mert defeated Biolay 6:2, 6:1 to reach the semifinals. However, Mert lost to Ekaterina Khayrutdinova from FIU. Mert had a strong first set and secured the win 6:3. Mert was unable to secure a narrow 7:6(7) victory in the second set and lost 1:6 in the third set.

Grant fell in the quarterfinals to Miami’s Raquel Gonzalez in a three-set match. Gonzalez won the first set 6-3 and Grant made a narrow comeback in the second set 7-5. Gonzalez finally advanced to the semifinals with a 6-4 win in the third set.

Bulldogs Dasha Vidmanova and Anastasiia Lopata will next face off in the main draw of the ITF Hilton Head W35 tournament on October 23rd.