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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)
Players Mentioned
