ATHENS, Ga. -- Georgia's Mia King pulled out a hard fought victory in the last remaining singles match, clinching the No. 12 Bulldogs' 4-3 win against No. 5 Virginia on Wednesday afternoon at the Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Courts. The match, which lasted nearly five and a half hours, was played indoors due to rain in the Athens area.
In doubles, the No. 36 duo of Kate Fuller and Silvia Garcia were first off the court with an 8-4 win against No. 41 Stephanie Nauta and Maci Epstein. The third-ranked pair of Lauren Herring and Maho Kowase clinched the doubles points, breaking to beat No.9 Julia Elbaba and Rachel Pierson 8-6. Herring and Kowase now have a team-leading 24-4 record in doubles play.
The Cavaliers (9-4, 4-1) quickly evened the score at 1-1 when Pierson topped Kimbell 6-1, 6-1. The Bulldogs (10-2, 3-0) quickly recovered, gaining a 3-1 lead with wins on courts one and three. No. 10 Herring beat No. 3 Elbaba 6-4, 6-4 and No. 15 Garcia came from behind to beat No. 47 Nauta 3-6, 6-3, 6-0. For Herring, it was the highest ranked collegiate win of her career.
"This was college tennis at its best," head coach Jeff Wallace said. "It was an NCAA atmosphere out here with every player giving everything that they had. There were a ton of momentum changes today. Lauren did a great job, playing so aggressively at the end to get the win. Silvia coming back and winning a 6-0 third set. That was a nice match to have. It was great for Maho to fight and stay out there a long time. Then it all came down to Mia at the end. She came back in the tiebreaker and then really rolled in the second set. It's a great win for the team."
Later, the Cavaliers Epstein topped Fuller 6-2, 6-4 to pull Virginia to within one. A short time later, No. 67 Collins outlasted No. 21 Kowase 7-6 (7-1), 2-6, 6-4. With the match tied at 3-3, King secured the Georgia win with a 7-6(7), 6-2 match.
The Bulldogs, who won Wednesday in front of more than 400 fans, are now riding a six-match winning streak.
