NORMAN, Okla. — The top-ranked and fourth-seeded Georgia women’s tennis team (18-4, 12-3 SEC) defeated No. 8 Texas (17-7, 11-4 SEC) 4-2 on Friday in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals at the Headington Family Tennis Center, snapping a three-match skid against the Longhorns.
Fast Facts
The Bulldogs have now advanced to their seventh-consecutive SEC Tournament semifinal dating back to the 2019 season (2020 SEC Tournament cancelled due to COVID-19).
Georgia now leads the all-time series 15-6 against Texas.
Georgia opened the match in doubles play, where Texas edged out the point with wins on courts one and three to take an early 1-0 lead.
The Bulldogs found success on court two, as the No. 3 duo of Deniz Dilek and Aysegul Mert earned a 6-3 victory over Carmen Herea and Mathilde Ngijol-Carre, marking their fifth straight doubles win.
Texas clinched the doubles point with a tiebreak win on court three, 7-6(1) over Georgia’s Emma Dong and Hayden Mulberry.
No. 86 Sofia Rojas put Georgia on the board first with a dominant 6-3, 6-1 victory over Mathilde Ngijol-Carré.
Paukstyte followed with a 6-3, 6-2 win against Kate Mansfield, marking her third consecutive singles victory and giving Georgia a second point in the early stages of singles play.
No. 20 Lopata battled back after dropping the second set to defeat No. 3 Herea, 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, clinching a key three-set victory at the top spot and extending her singles win streak to three matches.
No. 8 Mert secured a straight-set win over No. 6 Abbagnato, 6-4, 7-6(6), winning a tightly contested tiebreak in the second set to push her singles win streak to four matches.
Results
Doubles:
1. Anastasia Abbagnato/Elizabeth Ionescu (TEX) def. #10 Anastasiia Lopata/Patricija Paukstyte (UGA): 6-1
2. #3 Deniz Dilek/Aysegul Mert (UGA) def. Carmen Herea/Mathilde Ngijol-Carre (TEX): 6-3
3. Salma Drugdova/Eszter Meri (TEX) def. Emma Dong/ Hayden Mulberry (UGA): 7-6(1)
Singles:
1. #20 Anastasiia Lopata (UGA) def. #3 Carmen Herea (TEX): 6-2, 1-6, 6-1
2. #8 Aysegul Mert (UGA) def. #6 Anastasia Abbagnato (TEX): 6-4, 7-6(6)
3. #68 Deniz Dilek (UGA) vs. #50 Eszter Meri (TEX): 3-6, 6-3, 1-1 unfinished
4. Elizabeth Ionescu (TEX) def. #54 Anastasiia Gureva (UGA): 6-2, 6-4
5. #86 Sofia Rojas (UGA) def. Mathilde Ngijol-Carré (TEX): 6-3, 6-1
6. Patricija Paukstyte (UGA) def. Kate Mansfield (TEX): 6-3, 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (1, 2, 3); Singles (5, 6, 4, 1, 2)
Up Next
The Bulldogs will prepare for the SEC semifinal round where they will face LSU Saturday, April 18 at 4 p.m. ET at the Headington Family Tennis Center.
Match 23 – No. 1 (4-seed) Georgia vs. No. 15 (9-seed) LSU (SEC Semifinal)
Date: Saturday, April 18, 2026
Time: 4 p.m. ET
Location: Norman, Okla.
Site: Headington Family Tennis Center
Live Video: https://gado.gs/cv5
Live Stats: https://gado.gs/elg
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