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Georgia
No. 9 Women’s Tennis tops No. 1 Georgia, 4-1
03.14.2026 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns earned their sixth-straight victory and their third-straight in the series against the Bulldogs.
Austin – No. 9 Texas Women's Tennis topped No. 1 Georgia, 4-1, on Saturday at the Texas Tennis Center. The Longhorns earned their sixth-straight victory and their third-straight in the series against the Bulldogs.
After Georgia took the first doubles match at No. 2, Texas captured the point with 6-3 wins at Nos. 3 and 1. The Longhorns then followed with singles victories by freshman Mathilde Ngijol-Carré at No. 6 and sophomore No. 1 Carmen Herea at No. 1 for a 3-0 lead. The Bulldogs got one point back at No. 5, but the clinch came from freshman No. 16 Anastasia Abbagnato, who rallied from a set down to win.
"I'm delighted with the result," head coach Howard Joffe said. "I'm not a super big believer in rankings during the season, and I've been really clear with the team that we're a young team, but a good team that's growing and learning. I felt like today, we might have even left some possible other points out there – and on another day we could get beaten by a great team like Georgia – but that's just meant to shine a light on how talented this team is and what it can be. We're still not at full strength and minus a couple of starters, but I do think we're in the middle of the season, and this was a great opportunity to show where we are and provide our team confidence and belief."
Although Georgia started the day with a doubles win as the No. 50 duo of freshmen Elizabeth Ionescu and Christasha McNeil fell to Anastasiia Lopata and Patricija Paukstyte, 6-0, at No. 2. Herea and Ngijol-Carré responded with a 6-3 win over Emma Dong and Anastasiia Gureva at No. 3. Near the time that match ended, Texas had also gone up a break at No. 1 where Abbagnato and sophomore Salma Drugdova registered a top-10 victory over No. 8 Aysegul Mert and Deniz Dilek by the same score for a 1-0 overall lead.
Ngijol-Carré then began the scoring in singles by putting together an efficient ranked win over No. 61 Sofia Rojas, 6-0, 6-2, at No. 6 for a 2-0 advantage. The Longhorns had won four first sets overall and had a narrow defeat in a tiebreaker in another, but one of those first sets was taken in a tiebreaker by Herea, who then went on for a top-10 straight-sets victory over No. 6 Mert, 7-6 (5), 6-2, at No. 1.
Ionescu had also gone to a first-set tiebreaker against Dong at No. 5, but Dong rallied from being down, 6-2, in the breaker to go on to win, 7-6 (9), 6-1. However, at the same time that match was finishing, Abbagnato had taken control of her third set after dropping the opening one and clinched the match with an impressive last two sets, 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 over No. 37 Lopata to send her teammates streaming onto her court at No. 2.
"I was down in the score, but I felt one change in my game and in my head, and I went for it," Abbagnato said. "I was very aggressive and I found my game. When I was down a set and 2-0, I got to 2-1 and was able to completely change my mindset."
Two matches were then left unfinished with sophomore No. 81 Eszter Meri narrowly trailing, but on serve in her third set, 6-4, 2-6, 1-2, against No. 48 Dilek at No. 3, while McNeil was down a break in her third set, 6-3, 2-6, 3-5, against No. 36 Gureva at No. 4.
The Longhorns will next head back out on the road to face Kentucky in Lexington on Friday, March 20, at 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT.
#9 Texas 4, #1 Georgia 1
Singles – Order of Finish (6,1,5,2)
1. #1 Carmen Herea (TEX) def. #6 Aysegul Mert (UGA) 7-6 (5), 6-2
2. #16 Anastasia Abbagnato (TEX) def. #37 Anastasiia Lopata (UGA) 2-6, 6-3, 6-1
3. #81 Eszter Meri (TEX) vs. #48 Deniz Dilek (UGA) 6-4, 2-6, 1-2, unf.
4. Christasha McNeil (TEX) vs. #36 Anastasiia Gureva (UGA) 6-3, 2-6, 3-5, unf.
5. Emma Dong (UGA) def. Elizabeth Ionescu (TEX) 7-6 (9), 6-1
6. Mathilde Ngijol-Carré (TEX) def. #61 Sofia Rojas (UGA) 6-0, 6-2
Doubles – Order of Finish (2,3,1)
1. Salma Drugdova/Anastasia Abbagnato (TEX) def. #8 Aysegul Mert/Deniz Dilek (UGA) 6-3
2. Anastasiia Lopata/Patricija Paukstyte (UGA) def. #50 Elizabeth Ionescu/Christasha McNeil (TEX) 6-0
3. Carmen Herea/Mathilde Ngijol-Carré (TEX) def. Emma Dong/Anastasiia Gureva (UGA) 6-3
Individual Match Key Moments
(by order of finish)
Doubles No. 2: Lopata/Paukstyte (UGA) def. Ionescu/McNeil (TEX) 6-0
Match: Georgia swept the match with one deuce-point hold for 4-0.
Doubles No. 3: Herea/Ngijol-Carré (TEX) vs. Dong/Gureva (UGA) 6-3
Match: Georgia broke in the second game for 2-0, but Texas won consecutive deuce points to start a 4-0 run. The next two games were held and the Longhorns broke again to win.
Doubles No. 1: Abbagnato/Drugdova (TEX) def. Mert/Dilek (UGA) 6-3
Match: Texas won consecutive deuce points to hold for 2-1 and break for 3-1. Georgia got the break back and then held at deuce for 3-3, but the Longhorns also held at deuce to start a 3-0 run to the win.
Singles No. 6: Ngijol-Carré (TEX) vs. Rojas (UGA) 6-0, 6-2
Set One: Ngijol-Carré started on an 8-0 run including sweeping the first set, winning four deuce points, including the first two and last two games of the set.
Set Two: Ngijol-Carré started 2-0, and although Rojas evened it, Ngijol-Carré closed, 4-0, with two deuce-point breaks, including on match point.
Singles No. 1: Herea (TEX) def. Mert (UGA) 7-6 (5), 6-2
Set One: Herea won the first two games on deuce points for a 3-0 run that she extended to a 5-1 lead. Mert answered by taking the next five games, three of which were at deuce, including the first two of those and the last one, which was a break. However, Herea came through and broke back at deuce for a tiebreaker.
Set One Tiebreaker: Mert took leads of 3-1 and 5-2, but Herea finished on a 5-0 run to win.
Set Two: Herea jumped out to a 4-0 lead and the last four games were all held, capped by Herea serving out at deuce.
Singles No. 5: Dong (UGA) def. Ionescu (TEX) 7-6 (9), 6-1
Set One: The players exchanged breaks to start, but Dong held at deuce and the next five games were on serve until Dong broke at deuce for 5-3. However, Ionescu broke back at deuce and held for 5-5, while Dong held at deuce, followed by Ionescu also holding for a tiebreaker.
Set One Tiebreaker: Ionescu used a 4-0 run for a 6-2 lead, but Dong answered it. After Ionescu regained a 7-6 lead, the players alternated 2-0 runs until Dong won three straight for a the 11-9 win.
Set Two: Three of the first four games went to deuce with Dong winning all of the deuce points for a 3-1 lead that she carried to a 6-1 win.
Singles No. 2: Abbagnato (TEX) def. Lopata (UGA) 2-6, 6-3, 6-1
Set One: Lopata held and broke for 2-0, and after Abbagnato broke back for 2-1, Lopata stretched to 4-1. Abbagnato held at deuce for 4-2, but Lopata held and broke to win.
Set Two: Lopata against started 2-0, but Abbagnato responded with a 4-0 run and later broke again for 6-3.
Set Three: Lopata broke in the first game, but Abbagnato took it from there with a 6-0 run that included deuce-point holds for 2-1 and on match point.
Singles No. 3: Meri (TEX) vs. Dilek (UGA) 6-4, 2-6, 1-2, unf.
Set One: After the first three games were breaks, Meri held first for 3-1. Dilek then held at deuce for 3-2, but Meri won the next two games for 5-2. Dilek managed to break on a deuce point in the next game, but Meri closed on the set in her next service game.
Set Two: Meri broke first for 2-1, but Dilek closed the set on a 5-0 run, including three consecutive deuce points from a 3-2 lead to 5-2.
Set Three: The first three games were on serve until play stopped.
Singles No. 4: McNeil (TEX) vs. Gureva (UGA) 6-3, 2-6, 3-5, unf.
Set One: McNeil held and broke for 2-0, but Gureva broke back. After McNeil held for a 4-3 lead, she broke again for 5-3 and served out the set.
Set Two: The first five games were on serve with the last three at deuce, giving Gureva a 3-2 lead, however the last of those started a 4-0 run to her win.
Set Three: Gureva also won the first four games of the third set, but McNeil broke for 4-1 and then at deuce for 5-2 before holding at deuce for 5-3 when play halted.
Players Mentioned
