Third Seed Georgia Blanks Miami, Faces No. 6 Cal in Saturday's Quarterfinals

©Colette Lewis 2014--
Charlottesville, VA--

Third seed Georgia posted the day's only shutout in the bottom half of the draw, cruising to a 4-0 win over Miami, ranked No. 9 in the nation.

Passed over for a seed, when No. 10 Duke was elevated into the top eight, Miami may have come into the tournament with a grievance, but that motivation wasn't enough to overcome an in-form Georgia. The Bulldogs had swept Clemson 7-0 last week, and that confidence showed against Miami.

Georgia won the doubles point, getting wins at No. 2 and No. 3, with No. 1 doubles going unfinished.  In the singles, Maho Kowase picked up Georgia's second point with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Lina Lileikite at line 3, and Lauren Herring soon followed Kowase off the court, using her variety effectively against Stephanie Wagner in a 6-2, 6-2 victory. Up 3-0, Georgia looked to be in good shape with the first sets in three of the other four singles matches.  Miami's best chance for a point was on court 4, where Clementine Riobueno had taken the first set from Lilly Kimbell, but Kimbell took the second set and entered the match tiebreaker with an opportunity to clinch.  Riobueno had a substantial lead in the tiebreaker, but she couldn't close it out, and in the meantime, Mia King had taken a 5-0 lead in the second set of her match with Melissa Bolivar at line 6.  King missed one match point opportunity with a botched overhead, but she converted with a swinging volley winner on her next chance, winning the match 6-4, 6-0 and putting Georgia in the quarterfinals.

Georgia's opponent, No. 6 seed Cal, had a tougher route to the quarterfinals. The Bears lost the doubles point when Clemson's Tristan Dewar and Romy Koelzer won a tiebreaker over Denise Starr and Kelly Chui at 2 after Cal won at line 1 and Clemson at 3.

But Cal came out strong in singles, winning five first sets, and Clemson wasn't able to mount a comeback.  Cal tied it with Klara Fabikova's 6-2, 6-2 win over Tristen Dewar at 5, took the lead with Lynn Chi's 6-4, 6-2 victory over Koelzer at 3, and added to it with Maegan Manasse's 6-2, 6-1 win over Jessy Rompies at 6.  Anett Schutting had fought back to force a match tiebreaker at No. 1 against Clemson's Yana Koroleva, but Koroleva held on for a 6-2, 6-7(2), 10-7 win, with the match concluding just as Cal's Zsofi Susanyi completed her 6-2, 6-4 win over Ani Miao to clinch the match for Cal.

Saturday's quarterfinal is a rematch of last year's, which Georgia won 4-1.
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Georgia 4, Miami 0
Feb 07, 2014 at Charlottesville, VA (Boar's Head Sports Club)

Singles
1. #4 Lauren Herring (UGA) def. #32 Stephanie Wagner (UM) 6-2, 6-2
2. #10 Silvia Garcia (UGA) vs. #64 Kelsey Laurente (UM) 7-6 (7-5), 4-4, unfinished
3. #25 Maho Kowase (UGA) def. Lina Lileikite (UM) 6-2, 6-3
4. #33 Lilly Kimbell (UGA) vs. Clementina Riobueno (UM) 2-6, 6-2, 7-9, unfinished
5. Kate Fuller (UGA) vs. Monique Albuquerque (UM) 6-2, 5-6, unfinished
6. Mia King (UGA) def. Melissa Bolivar (UM) 6-4, 6-0

Doubles
1. #5 Lauren Herring/Maho Kowase (UGA) vs. #29 Monique Albuquerque/Clementina Riobueno (UM) 6-5, unfinished
2. Kate Fuller/Silvia Garcia (UGA) def. Melissa Bolivar/Kelsey Laurente (UM) 6-4
3. Lilly Kimbell/Caroline Brinson (UGA) def. Lina Lileikite/Stephanie Wagner (UM) 6-4

Match Notes
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (3,1,6)

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Feb 07, 2014 at Charlottesville, VA (Boar's Head Sports Club)
California 4, Clemson 2

Singles
1. #74 Yana Koroleva (CU) def. #26 Anett Schutting (CAL) 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 10-7
2. #44 Beatrice Gumulya (CU) vs. #15 Denise Starr (CAL) 2-6, 6-6, unfinished
3. #95 Lynn Chi (CAL) def. Romy Koelzer (CU) 6-4, 6-2
4. #16 Zsofi Susanyi (CAL) def. Ani Miao (CU) 6-2, 6-4
5. Karla Fabrikova (CAL) def. #103 Tristen Dewar (CU) 6-2, 6-2
6. #31 Maegen Manasse (CAL) def. Jessy Rompies (CU) 6-2, 6-1

Doubles
1. Maegen Manasse/Anett Schutting (CAL) def. Beatrice Gumulya/Yana Koroleva (CU) 7-6
2. Tristen Dewar/Romy Koelzer (CU) def. #48 Denise Starr/Kelly Chui (CAL) 7-6
3. Jessy Rompies/Ani Miao (CU) def. Lynn Chi/Karla Fabrikova (CAL) 6-3

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