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No. 8 Women’s Tennis downed by No. 1 Georgia in SEC Championship quarterfinals
04.18.2026 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns won the doubles point and had a late path in singles but came up just short to the Bulldogs in a 4-2 decision on Friday.
Norman, Okla. – No. 8 Texas Women's Tennis was downed by No. 1 Georgia, 4-2, in the SEC Championship quarterfinals on Friday at the Headington Family Tennis Center in Norman, Okla.
The fifth-seeded Longhorns put together an impressive doubles point, first earning a top-10 victory at No.1 and later clinching the point in at tiebreak at No. 3 after the Bulldogs had won at No. 2. Georgia began singles with wins at Nos. 5-6, but freshman Elizabeth Ionescu tied the overall match again with a win at No. 4. The Bulldogs took the match at No. 1, and then won a second-set tiebreaker at No. 2 that might have evened that match at a set apiece, but Georgia came away with the clinch. Meanwhile, the match at No. 3 was tied in its third set when play stopped.
During doubles, Ionescu and freshman Anastasia Abbagnato registered a decisive 6-1 victory over No. 10 Anastasiia Lopata and Patricija Paukstyte at No. 1. The pair of sophomore Carmen Herea and freshman Mathilde Ngijol-Carré then fell to the No. 3 pair of Deniz Dilek and Aysegul Mert at No. 2, but sophomores Salma Drugdova and Eszter Meri came through a 7-6 (1) tiebreaker win over Emma Dong and Hayden Mulberry to clinch the point.
After Ngijol-Carré and freshman Kate Mansfield were downed in singles by No. 86 Sofia Rojas, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 5 and Paukstyte, 6-3, 6-2, at No. 6, respectively, Ionescu produced a 6-2, 6-4 top-60 victory over Anastasiia Gureva at No. 4 to tie the match. No. 3 Herea and No. Lopata alternated decisive sets with Lopata emerging in three sets, 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, at No. 1.
That left two matches on the court, and although No. 6 Abbagnato had dropped her first set to No. 8 Mert, Abbagnato had rallied to lead a second-set tiebreaker, 6-2, but Mert responded for a 6-4, 7-6 (6) win to clinch. At that point, No. 50 Meri was even in the third set of her match at No. 3 against No. 68 Deniz Dilek, 6-3, 3-6, 1-1, when play halted.
The Longhorns (17-7, 11-4 SEC) will now await selection to the NCAA Tournament with first and second rounds held May 1-3 at locations to be determined.
#1 Georgia 4, #8 Texas 2
Singles – Order of Finish (5,6,4,1,2)
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, unf.
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
Doubles – Order of Finish (1,2,3)
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-Carré (TEX) 6-3
3. Salma Drugdova/Eszter Meri (TEX) def. Emma Dong/Hayden Mulberry (UGA) 7-6 (1)
Individual Match Key Moments
(by order of finish)
Doubles No. 1: Abbagnato/Ionescu (TEX) def. Lopata/Paukstyte (UGA) 6-1
Match: After Georgia held for 1-1, Texas went on a 5-0 run to the win.
Doubles No. 2: Dilek/Mert (UGA) def. Herea/Ngijol-Carré (TEX) 6-3
Match: Georgia earned the only break of the match for 3-1.
Doubles No. 3: Drugdova/Meri (TEX) def. Dong/Mulberry (UGA) 7-6 (1)
Match: Texas broke for a 2-1 lead, but Georgia broke back at deuce for 2-2. Although the Bulldogs were the next to break for 5-3, the Longhorns deflected a match point at deuce to break back for 5-4 and start a 3-0 run for a 6-5 lead. Georgia again broke back to go to a tiebreaker.
Tiebreaker: Georgia won the first point, but Texas swept the rest of the way.
Singles No. 5: Rojas (UGA) def. Ngijol-Carré (TEX) 6-3, 6-1
Set One: Rojas used a 5-0 run for a 5-1 lead. Ngijol-Carré got back within 5-3 before Rojas won, 6-3.
Set Two: Rojas put together another 5-0 run to start the set on the way to 6-1.
Singles No. 6: Paukstyte (UGA) def. Mansfield (TEX) 6-3, 6-2
Set One: Paukstyte held at deuce for 3-2 and then earned the only break for 4-2. The last game went to deuce, but Paukstyte held for the set.
Set Two: Both players broke starting with Paukstyte and then held for 2-2 until Paukstyte finished on a 4-0 run, including at deuce for 4-2.
Singles No. 4: Ionescu (TEX) def. Gureva (UGA) 6-2, 6-4
Set One: Gureva broke first for 2-1, but Ionescu broke back to start a 5-0 run for the set.
Set Two: Gureva again broke first for 2-1, and Ionescu again broke back. After Gureva broke again and held for 4-2, Ionescu held at deuce to begin a 4-0 run for the match.
Singles No. 1: Lopata (UGA) def. Herea (TEX) 6-2, 1-6, 6-1
Set One: Herea broke at deuce to begin, but Lopata broke back and then held at deuce. After Herea also held, Lopata held at deuce to start a 4-0 run for the set.
Set Two: Herea again started with a break but held for 2-0. After Lopata held, it was Herea who finished on a 4-0 run for the set.
Set Three: Herea held the opening game, but Lopata went on a 6-0 run for the match, capped by a deuce-point hold.
Singles No. 2: Mert (UGA) def. Abbagnato (TEX) 6-4, 7-6 (6)
Set One: Mert held at deuce to begin on a 4-0 run. Abbagnato broke for 4-1 to start three-straight breaks before holding at deuce for 5-3 and breaking for 5-4, however Mert broke for the set.
Set Two: Mert broke first or 3-1, but Abbagnato broke back to start a 3-0 run. Mert got back on serve with a deuce-point break, and although Abbagnato later broke again for 6-5, Mert broke to send it to a tiebreaker.
Set Two Tiebreaker: Abbagnato took leads of 3-0 and 6-2, but Mert closed on a 6-0 run for the match.
Singles No. 3: Dilek (UGA) vs. Meri (TEX) 3-6, 6-3, 1-1, unf.
Set One: Dilek started with a deuce-point break, but Meri broke back. Meri later secured the only other break for 4-2. Meri had a set point at deuce, but Dilek held for 5-3 before Meri served out.
Set Two: Dilek claimed the only break in the set for 3-1.
Set Three: Both players held with Dilek doing so at deuce before play stopped.
