Mississippi State
Georgia
No. 25 MSU Falls To No. 7 Georgia To Cap Opening Weekend
March 06, 2016 | Women's Tennis
Starkville, Miss – Despite a great effort in an upset bid, the 25th-ranked Mississippi State women's tennis team (10-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) fell to No. 7 Georgia (8-1, 2-0) 5-2 Sunday afternoon to split the opening weekend of conference play.
MSU defeated No. 54 Tennessee, 6-1, on Friday before dropping Sunday's decision to UGA.
State began the day strong by claiming the doubles point (first time since 1997 vs. Georgia) with two ranked wins. On court 3, Georgia's tandem of Kennedy Shaffer and Laura Patterson upset MSU's No. 53 Jennifer Brown and Kristina Vozniak 6-3 in the first match complete. Moments after, on court 2, MSU's tandem of Jasmine Lee and Louise Ronaldson completed a 6-3 upset of UGA's 38th-ranked duo of Caroline Brinson and Silvia Garcia. At the top spot, the Bulldog duo of No. 51 Madison Harrison and Georgiana Patrasc picked up its second ranked win over Georgia's No. 40 Ellen Perez and Mariana Gould 6-4 to clinch the doubles point and give MSU a 1-0 lead.
However, the Bulldogs of Athens responded in singles by taking four of the six first sets and rode that momentum to the victory.
In a top 15 singles matchup, UGA's No. 14 Perez upset MSU's No. 11 Lee in straight sets 6-3, 6-1 at the top spot to even the team score at 1-1. UGA would get its first lead after Gould defeated MSU's Vozniak, 7-5, 6-3, on court 5 to give UGA a 2-1 advantage.
State's highlight in singles came from true freshman, and 43rd-ranked, Anastasia Rentouli as she battled with UGA's 64th-ranked senior Garcia, ultimately claiming the victory 7-5, 6-4 and tying the match at 2-2. Rentouli was down 5-2 in the first set and 3-1 in the second before fighting back to claim both for her 10th straight triumph.
The final three contests of the day would all go three sets and UGA would claim wins in all three despite a strong challenge from State in all three.
UGA's 22nd-ranked Brinson would outlast a rally from MSU's No. 103 Patrasc 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 on court 3 for a 3-2 lead, ending an 11-match win streak for the MSU senior. Georgia's 98th-ranked Shaffer would then come from behind against State's Harrison 6-7(1), 6-1, 7-5 at No. 2 to clinch the match 4-2 for Georgia. In the remaining match, UGA's Patterson held off State's Brown on court 6, taking the match 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 to make the final score 5-2 in favor of Georgia.
“Afterwards I told the girls that I have never been so proud of a team in a loss,” head coach Daryl Greenan said. “We fought hard against a good team and were able to get the doubles point. It's heartbreaking that we lost. We didn't take advantage of a couple of opportunities, but if we keep putting it all out on the court like we did today things will start falling into place.”
MSU will hit the road this weekend for two more ranked showdowns with No. 14 Texas A&M and No. 9 LSU on Friday and Sunday, respectively, to continue SEC play.
For more information on Mississippi State women's tennis and updates, fans can follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at HailStateWT.
No. 7 Georgia 5, No. 25 Mississippi State 2
March 6, 2016 – A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre – Starkville, Miss.
Doubles
Order of match finish…3,2,1
1. #51 Madison Harrison/Georgiana Patrasc (MSU) def. #40 Ellen Perez/Mariana Gould (UGA) 6-4
2. Jasmine Lee/Louise Ronaldson (MSU) def. #38 Caroline Brinson/ Silvia Garcia (UGA) 6-3
3. Kennedy Shaffer/Laura Patterson (UGA) def. #53 Jennifer Brown/Kristina Vozniak (MSU) 6-3
Singles
Order of match finish…1,5,4,3,2,6
1. #14 Ellen Perez (UGA) def. #11 Jasmine Lee (MSU) 6-3, 6-1
2. #98 Kennedy Shaffer (UGA) def. Madison Harrison (MSU) 6-7(1), 6-1, 7-5
3. #22 Caroline Brinson (UGA) def. #103 Georgiana Patrasc (MSU), 6-1, 5-7, 6-2
4. #43 Anastasia Rentouli (MSU) def. #64 Silvia Garcia (UGA) 7-5, 6-4
5. Mariana Gould (UGA) def. Kristina Vozniak (MSU) 7-5, 6-3
6. Laura Patterson (UGA) def. Jennifer Brown (MSU) 6-4, 5-7, 6-3
