The University of Georgia women’s tennis team returned to Athens with a new trophy to add to their collection. The No. 5-ranked Bulldogs defeated the No. 3 North Carolina Tar Heels 4-3 on Tuesday afternoon to win the 2019 ITA National Team Indoor Championship.
The Bulldogs defeated No. 14 NC State, No. 2 Vanderbilt, and No. 1 Stanford en route to winning the championship.
“It is exciting,” head coach Jeff Wallace said. “I’m really proud of this team, the coaches, and the support staff that was here. It was a total team effort, which makes it really special.”
GEORGIA CAPTURES ITS SIXTH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP IN PROGRAM HISTORY!!!!
Sophomore Katarina Jokic pulled out a third-set tiebreaker on the last remaining court to defeat the reigning ITA Indoor Champion Tar Heels!!!#GoDawgs #ITAIndoors #formydawgs pic.twitter.com/TZ3podNdyU
— Georgia W Tennis (@UGAWomensTennis) February 12, 2019
No. 2-ranked Katarina Jokic clinched the championship with a 6-7(3), 7-5, 7-6(2) on court one. The defending ITA National Indoor Singles Champion defeated No. 6-ranked Makenna Jones to earn her 13th ranked win this season.
The Bulldogs were able to win the championship matchup with wins exclusively from their singles players. Straight-set wins from Elena Christofi and Meg Kowalski led the way for the Bulldogs, and a third-set victory from Vivian Wolff got the Bulldogs within one point of the win.
The Bulldogs’ No. 3 doubles pairing of Jokic and Kowalski were the only doubles able to capture a win for the team.
“I’m super, super proud of our team in what they were able to accomplish,” Wallace said. “The season is early and young and there is a lot of work to be done, but we are looking forward to enjoying this one for sure.”
Luke Gamble is a senior majoring in journalism at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.
