Top three seeds advance without drama in first day of singles play in Athens

ATHENS, Ga. -- Less than 12 hours after the crowning of both team champions, 128 men’s and women’s tennis players began their quests for individual glory. The dynamic nature of college tennis was on display from the very first serve in Athens as the day featured an abundance of upsets throughout the draw.

The first matches on court began what could be referred to in others sports as bracket busting as the No. 4 seed in the women’s draw was eliminated within the first two hours of competition. Stanford’s Krista Hardebeck would cause the first upset of the women’s draw as she knocked out No. 4 Julia Elbaba with a 6-2, 6-2 win at court number three. This would be the only major upset of the day as No. 1 Jamie Loeb, No. 2 Robin Anderson and No. 3 Kristie Ahn would progress to the second round without drama.

From a local perspective, Georgia finished the day with a winning percentage as three of five players from the hosts advanced to the second round of the championships. Silvia Garcia got the ball rolling for the Bulldogs as she moved forwards with a 6-2, 6-2 victory against Belina Niu. Lauren Herring capped the Bulldogs good fortune for the day, the No.6 seeded Herring topped Klara Vyskocilova 6-1, 6-2.