Bulldawg Illustrated : News Releases

Georgia Golfers Continue Season In Las Vegas

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

ATHENS, Ga. - Fresh off its first victory of the season, the Georgia men’s
golf team will travel to Las Vegas this weekend for the 2010 Southern
Highlands Collegiate Masters.

The Bulldogs will play Southern Highlands Golf Club’s par-72, 7,510-yard
layout Friday through Sunday. Georgia and host UNLV will help make up a
field that features 11 teams from the Top 25.

“The Las Vegas tournament is always one of the best events of the season,”
Georgia coach Chris Haack said. “The golf course is very challenging and the
teams that compete there are some of the best in the country. Las Vegas
gives you a barometer of where your team is heading into the meat of the
schedule. We’ll have to play well to put ourselves in position to contend.
But that’s OK. We like the challenge.”

Haack will use a lineup of seniors Rob Bennett, Harris English and Russell
Henley, and freshmen Bryden Macpherson and T.J. Mitchell. English and Henley
are the only players in this week’s lineup who have played at Southern
Highlands.

The field for the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters is made up of No. 1
Oklahoma State, No. 3 Texas, No. 4 Florida, No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 10 Arizona
State, No. 12 UCLA, No. 13 Georgia, No. 15 Georgia Tech, No. 16 Texas Tech,
No. 18 Southern Cal and No. 19 UNLV as well as Arizona, New Mexico, TCU and
Tennessee.

Play will begin each day with tee times off Nos. 1 and 10 starting at 11
a.m. Live scoring can be found at golfstat.com.

Georgia enters the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters riding the momentum
of its victory at the Charleston Shootout. The Bulldogs finished at 18-under
846 (the third-best figure in school history) and claimed a 20-shot victory
over the College of Charleston. Henley earned medalist honors at 9-under 207
for his second win of the year and the fourth of his career. He picked up
SEC Golfer of the Week honors following the tournament.

After the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters, the Bulldogs will have just
two events remaining before the SEC Championship April 16-18 on St. Simons
Island. Georgia then will play in an NCAA Regional May 20-22 in an attempt
to qualify for the NCAA Championship June 1-5. This year’s NCAAs will take
place in Ooltewah, Tenn.

ESPN2 To Broadcast Highlights Of SEC Indoor Track And Field Championships

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

ATHENS, Ga. - ESPN2 will televise highlights and interviews from the 2010 Southeastern Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships during a special highlight program on Thursday at 9 p.m.-10:30 p.m.

Both the Georgia men and women finished fifth at the conference meet in Fayetteville, Ark., on Feb. 26-28. This was a three-place improvement from their 2009 indoor finish for the Bulldog men and a six-place improvement for the Lady Bulldogs.

Georgia boasted individual SEC champions in Torrin Lawrence (400-meter dash) and Tommy Barrineau (heptathlon). Senior Bridget Lyons (5000-meter run), sophomore Nikola Lomnicka (weight throw) and freshman Petr Novotny (shot put) also brought runner-up finishes home to Athens. In addition, junior Cory Holman set an SEC Championships meet record in the heptathlon high jump after soaring over the bar at 7 feet, 1 ¾ inches.

Since the SEC meet, Lawrence, whose time of 45.10 also broke an SEC Championships record, was named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) South Region Men’s Track Athlete of the Year for the second straight year.

SEC-TV Weekly, which airs on ESPNU every Tuesday, already featured pieces on Feb. 23 and March 2 highlighting the meet.

Gym Dogs Stay At No. 5

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

ATHENS——-The Georgia gymnastics team remained at No. 5 for the third consecutive week in the latest edition of the GymInfo Top 25 released Monday.

Alabama (197.155) is No. 1 followed by Oklahoma (196.920), UCLA (196.900), Florida (196.615) and Georgia (196.615) to round out the top five. Stanford (196.450) is No. 6 ahead of Arkansas (196.375), Oregon State (196.355), Utah (196.220) and 10th-ranked LSU (196.110).

The Gym Dogs (5-4) are coming off a 197.900-197.875 win over No. 3 UCLA last weekend. It was the second-highest score in the country this season and the highest combined dual meet total in Georgia gymnastics history.

In the team event rankings, Georgia is 13th on vault (49.145), third on bars (49.240), second on beam (49.230) and 11th on floor (49.125).

Individually, Georgia has three gymnasts ranked in the top-25 nationally in three events: Courtney McCool is third on floor (9.920), tied for eighth on beam (9.885) and tied for 21st on bars (9.855); Grace Taylor is tied for third on beam (9.910), while Kat Ding is tied for 10th on bars (9.885).

Against UCLA, Taylor recorded the nation’s first perfect 10 on beam this season. It was the 155th perfect 10 in school history and the third of Taylor’s career.

Georgia will close out the regular season with two meets this week including Friday at 12th-ranked Michigan and Sunday at home against NC State. Sunday will mark the final home meet for five Georgia seniors: Lauren Johnson, Courtney McCool, Marcia Newby, Lauren Sessler and Grace Taylor. For tickets, log onto www.georgiadogs.com or call the UGA Ticket Office at (706) 542-1231.

Georgia Men’s Tennis Returns Home To Face William & Mary

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

ATHENS——-The 11th-ranked Georgia men’s tennis team will take a break from SEC play and kick off a six-match homestand when it welcomes No. 57 William & Mary on Tuesday at 2 p.m. at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

The Bulldogs are 9-2 on the season, including a perfect 6-0 mark in Athens, and are riding a four-match winning streak. Georgia is coming off a weekend sweep of SEC rivals Alabama and Auburn.

“We had a light practice today, and our guys will hopefully be ready for a big challenge tomorrow,” said Georgia head coach Manuel Diaz. “Some of them were a little tired from the weekend. This is going to test our resiliency.”

With a record of 22-9, No. 29 Javier Garrapiz has led Georgia as he has faced 18 ranked opponents this season and is 3-1 at No. 1 singles and 4-2 at No. 2. Drake Bernstein is 20-9 overall and 5-2 at No. 4 singles. No. 105 Nate Schnugg is 15-9 overall and Jamie Hunt is 12-6 including a 6-2 mark at No. 3 singles.

In doubles, the Schnugg-Hunt tandem is 13-5 overall and 5-4 at No. 1 in dual matches. Bernstein and Garrapiz are 7-2 at No. 2 doubles while Bo Seal and Christian Vitulli are 6-3 at No. 3. Georgia has swept the doubles point four times this season.

The showdown with William & Mary will pit two streaking teams against one another as the Tribe head to Athens with a six-match winning streak on the line, while the Bulldogs have won the last four.

The last losses for W&M and Georgia were nearly a month ago, Feb. 13 & 14, respectively.

Georgia head coach Manuel Diaz is in need of just three more wins to reach No. 500 for his storied career.

Already standing as the only active men’s tennis coach with multiple NCAA Championships to his name, Diaz has accounted for four of them as the head coach (1999, 2001, 2007, 2008). He was also an assistant coach under Dan Magill on both of the other winning squads (1985, ’87), while his teams have claimed a conference-leading seven SEC Tournament titles.

Upon reaching No. 500, Diaz would become the sixth Georgia coach in any sport to reach that milestone: Suzanne Yoculan (gymnastics), 836; Andy Landers (women’s basketball), 748; Dan Magill (men’s tennis), 706; Jeff Wallace (women’s tennis), 533; Steve Webber (baseball), 500; Manuel Diaz (men’s tennis), 497.

Kupets Honored At Atlanta Sports Awards Banquet

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

UGA Sports Communications
March 8, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ATHENS——-Former Georgia gymnastics standout Courtney Kupets was named College Athlete of the Year presented by AT&T on Monday night at the 2010 Atlanta Sports Awards at the Fox Theater in downtown Atlanta.

Sponsored by the Atlanta Sports Council, the Atlanta Sports Awards honors the most accomplished athletes and teams at all levels throughout the metro Atlanta community.

As a senior in 2009, Kupets led Georgia to its fifth straight NCAA Championship, and she won the all-around, bars, beam and floor individual competitions. She became the first gymnast ever to win a national title in all four events and received five First-Team All-America honors, making a total of 15 for her career, the maximum for only competing three years.

Kupets is the all-time NCAA leader with nine individual championships and was named SEC Athlete of the Year, as well as the AAI National, NCAA Southeast Regional and SEC Gymnast of the Year. Kupets became the third Gym Dog ever to record a 10.0 in all four events, and she had seven 10.0s in 2009, including three at the NCAAs. Kupets also won the Honda-Broderick Cup as the nation’s top collegiate female athlete.

Other Georgia finalists included Drew Butler (football) for College Athlete of the Year, Anne Marie Armstrong (women’s basketball) for High School Athlete of the Year and the Georgia gymnastics team for Team of the Year.

TOM BRENNAN TO REPRESENT GEORGIA AS SEC BASKETBALL LEGEND

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

ATHENS -- Tom Brennan, a Georgia Bulldog in the late 1960s who later
achieved notoriety as a coach and broadcaster, will represent Georgia as
part of the 2010 class of the Chick-fil-A SEC Basketball Legends. This
group, which includes one ex-player or coach from each of the 12 member
institutions, will be honored at the SEC Tournament March 11-14 in
Nashville, Tenn.

Each Chick-fil-A SEC Basketball legend will be recognized at halftime of his
institution’s first tournament game. He will also make appearances at the
Dr. Pepper SEC FanFare exhibition.

Brennan played his college basketball at Georgia from 1969-71 before
achieving distinction first in the coaching profession and later as a
popular broadcaster.

Brennan, a native of Phillipsburg, N.J., lettered from 1969 until 1971 as a
Bulldog under coach Ken Rosemond. He was named recipient of the team’s
Leadership Trophy as a senior. He served an assistant basketball coach at
Villanova under Rollie Massimino, Seton Hall under Bill Raftery, and William
& Mary under Bruce Parkhill before going to Yale as head coach for four
seasons from 1982 until 1986.

Brennan became head coach at the University of Vermont in 1986 where he
remained until his retirement in 2005. His last four Catamount teams won
the America East Conference championship and he was named conference coach
of the year three times. Brennan’s last two teams played in the NCAA
Tournament and his 2005 NCAA Tournament team upset Big East Champion
Syracuse in the first round.

While coaching at Vermont, he also co-hosted the state’s most popular talk
radio show, and just after his retirement, he began a four-year stint as a
studio host for college basketball on ESPN.

This marks the 12th year of the SEC Basketball Legends program. Previous
representatives from Georgia include: 1999 – Vern Fleming; 2000 – Alec
Kessler; 2001 – Zippy Morocco; 2002 – Dominique Wilkins; 2003 – James Banks;
2004 – Lavon Mercer; 2005 – Ronnie Hogue; 2006 – Joe Ward; 2007 – Litterial
Green; 2008 – Hugh Durham; 2009 – Shandon Anderson.

Bulldogs' Thompkins Named First-Team All-SEC by Coaches

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

ATHENS -- University of Georgia sophomore Trey Thompkins is one of five
players that were selected unanimously to the 2010 Coaches’ All-Southeastern
Conference first team, according to an announcement by the league office on
Tuesday.

The other four unanimous first-team picks included DeMarcus Cousins and John
Wall of Kentucky, Jermaine Beal of Vanderbilt and Devan Downey of South
Carolina. Three remaining players completed the 8-man All-SEC first team:
Patrick Patterson of Kentucky, Wayne Chism of Tennessee and Jarvis Varnado
of Mississippi State.

With his appointment, Thompkins becomes Georgia’s first All-SEC first-team
honoree since Jarvis Hayes in 2002 and 2003.

Thompkins, a 6-10 forward from Lithonia, has led the Bulldogs in scoring and
rebounding throughout the 2010 season. He completed the regular season
averaging 17.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.1 blocks and 30.9 minutes per game,
shooting 48.6 percent from the field and 76.1 percent from the free-throw
line. He has nine double-doubles thus far this season, scored his career
high of 35 points against Florida Atlantic and was named SEC Player of the
Week on Dec. 21. Thompkins ranks in the SEC’s top five in scoring, overall
rebounding, defensive rebounds and field-goal percentage.

Thompkins and the Bulldogs will face Arkansas this Thursday night in the SEC
Tournament first round in Nashville, Tenn. Scheduled tipoff time is at 9:45
p.m. (EST).

Georgia Softball Opens SEC Play With Double Header Against Florida Wednesday

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

ATHENS, Ga. – The No. 4/6-ranked Georgia Bulldogs (18-1) will open Southeastern Conference play with a double header against the No. 4/11-ranked Florida Gators (16-2) on Wednesday at the UGA Softball Stadium.

First pitch of the twin bill is slated for 3:05 p.m. ET, and the two contests will be televised by CSS. Matt Stewart will call the play-by-play with Cheri Kempf providing color analysis. It will mark the beginning of the SEC Network television schedule for softball that will feature more coverage than any other league in the sport.

For Georgia, Wednesday’s double header will be the first two of eight regular season games scheduled to be broadcasted on television this season. CSS will also broadcast a double header between the Bulldogs and Tennessee Lady Vols in Knoxville on March 20. When Georgia travels to Baton Rouge to face LSU, game one of the series on April 29 will be aired on ESPN while game three on April 30 will be carried by ESPNU. Georgia closes the 2010 regular season at Texas with a May 9 contest on ESPN and a May 10 game on ESPNU. Additionally, all SEC Tournament games will be aired on ESPNU with the championship tilt on ESPN.

On Wednesday, Georgia will be looking to end an eight-game losing streak to Florida, who leads the all-time series 28-16. Georgia’s last victory over Florida came in Gainesville in 2006, when the Bulldog swept a three-game series. Last year, a then seventh-ranked Georgia squad met a then top-ranked Florida team in Gainesville with the Gators winning the double header with scores of 15-0 and 4-0.

Coming into this year’s meeting, both teams have posted strong offensive campaigns in non-conference play. Georgia is batting .358 with 38 home runs and 160 runs scored while Florida is hitting .347 with 40 home runs and 142 runs scored. The two teams lead the league in slugging percentage with the Bulldogs at .706 and the Gators close behind at .689.

From the circle, Georgia boasts a 0.92 earned run average with 131 strikeouts and 35 walks, and Florida holds a 2.08 ERA with 114 strikeouts and 48 walks.

Live stats and live audio for the Georgia-Florida double header will be available on www.georgiadogs.com. Admission is free to all regular season home contests, and the first 200 students to Wednesday’s action will receive “Beat Florida” t-shirts and free pizza.

GEORGIA NOTES:
Home Stand
Georgia is in the midst of 21-game home stand and is currently 15-0. The home stand started Feb. 19-21 with the Red & Black Showcase and will end on March 17 against Furman. The home stand includes three home tournaments, a double-header with Florida, a three-game series with Alabama and the contest with Furman. The next road trip on the schedule will come March 20-21, when UGA travels to Knoxville, Tenn., to play the Tennessee Lady Volunteers.

Current Winning Streak
Georgia enters SEC play riding a 16-game winning streak. During that stretch, the Bulldogs have outscored opponents 140-16 while batting .376 with 30 home runs and 70 stolen bases.

Home Winning Streak
Having finished 2009 with wins in its final three home games and now having won all 15 home games in 2010, Georgia is on an 18-game winning streak when playing at the UGA Softball Stadium.

Dial 9 For Long Distance
Nine Bulldogs have combined to hit 38 home runs through 19 games (2.00 per game) Last year, Georgia set a school record with 85 home runs (1.44 per game), and after 19 games the 2009 squad had hit 26 home runs. Bulldogs to hit home runs in 2010: Ashley Razey (8), Brianna Hesson (6), Kristyn Sandberg (5), Ashley Pauly (4), Taylor Schlopy (4), Laura Trout (4), Alisa Goler (3), Ashley Pauly (3), Amberlie Saxton (2) and Megan Wiggins (2).

Home Runs In All But Two Games
Georgia has hit a home run in all but two games this season. To open the year, the Bulldogs hit a long ball in 10-straight contests before not having a round tripper against Charleston Southern. In comparison, last year’s record-setting home run team’s longest consecutive games with a home run streak was seven on two separate instances.

Batting Around
The Bulldogs have batted around seven times this season.

UGA Players Vs. Opponent RBI
Hesson leads the Dogs with 21 RBI this season, whereas Georgia’s opponents have produced just 19 RBI. Additionally, Goler and Sandberg have each tallied 19 RBI.

Life In The Fast Lane
Georgia has stolen 75-of-87 bases this season, which is just three shy of last year’s 78 swipes – and that’s just after 19 games. The Bulldogs are averaging 3.95 stolen bases per game.

Setting The Table
Schlopy has reached base at a 69.2-percent success rate when leading off an inning (18-for-26). Schlopy also leads the team with 18 stolen bases.

Sandberg Seeing It Well
Sandberg enters Wednesday’s double-header riding a six-game hitting streak during which she is batting .667 (10-for-15).

Run Differential
Georgia is outscoring opponents 160-23.

Walk This Way
UGA has drawn 86 walks on the year through 19 games (4.53 per game), which puts the Bulldogs on pace to establish a new school record (199 in 2007). Additionally, Georgia also has a positive walk-to-strikeout ratio with the 86 free passes compared to 84 strikeouts.

Arevalo Shutting Out Opponents
Sophomore pitcher Erin Arevalo has not allowed an earned run in 57.2 innings pitched dating back to Feb. 14. While on the run, Arevalo has allowed just four unearned runs on 24 hits and 14 walks while striking out 72 batters.

Leading The SEC – Part One
As of games played through March 8, Georgia stands atop the SEC in several categories including:
Batting Average, .358
Slugging Percentage, .706
On Base Percentage, .467
Runs Scored, 160
RBI, 140
Total Bases, 308 (tied – UF)
Walks, 86 (tied – LSU)
Sacrifice Flies, 6
Stolen Bases, 75
Wins, 18 (tied – LSU)
Opposing Batting Average, .163
Fewest Hits Allowed, 66
Fewest Runs Allowed, 23
Fewest Earned Runs Allowed, 15
Fewest Doubles Allowed, 9
Fewest Home Runs Allowed, 3

Leading The SEC – Part One
As of games played through March 8, Georgia players that stand atop SEC statistical categories include:
On-Base Percentage, Schlopy, .609
Runs Scored, Schlopy, 23
Doubles, Hesson, 7
Triples, Schlopy, 3 (tied)
Walks, Goler, 18

UGA vs. UF In Slugging Percentage
The UGA-UF double header will feature the top two SEC teams in terms of slugging percentage with the Bulldogs leading .706 to .689. Furthermore, the series will include seven of the top 10 individual slugging percentage leaders in the league: 1. Francesca Enea, UF (1.115), 2. Kristyn Sandberg, UGA (.974), 3. Brianna Hesson, UGA (.962), 4. Ashley Razey, UGA (.938), 5. Taylor Schlopy, UGA (.891), 9. Kelsey Bruder, UF (.774), 10. Megan Bush, UF (.766).

Georgia Bulldogs (6-6) vs. Kennesaw State Owls (4-8), Tuesday

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

Georgia Bulldogs (6-6) vs. Kennesaw State Owls (4-8)

Tuesday: 5 p.m. (Foley Field)

Radio: 960 AM, WRFC; www.georgiadogs.com

Tickets: $8 Reserved; $5 General Admission

Georgia Stats:

http://www.georgiadogs.com/fls/8800/stats/baseball/2010/teamcume.htm

Fast Facts On the Bulldogs

FAST FACTS ON THE BULLDOGS

On Tap This Week: Georgia looks to snap a four-game losing streak Tuesday when it returns to Foley Field to play host to Kennesaw State (4-8). Georgia travels to KSU on Wednesday. Both games will start at 5 p.m. Then, the Bulldogs will play host to Siena (3-9) in a three-game series starting Friday. Georgia was outscored 51-10 last week, falling to Alabama in Hoover and then getting swept at sixth-ranked Florida State. Meanwhile, KSU went 3-1 at a tournament in Knoxville, Tenn., including a 4-2 win over host Tennessee and two victories over Binghamton. Siena will not play again until Friday after splitting a four-game series at South Alabama this past weekend.

Georgia will start junior RHP Eric Swegman (0-0, 0.00 ERA) on Tuesday and junior RHP Ben Cornwell (0-1, 12.27 ERA) on Wednesday. It will be Swegman’s third appearance of the year and second start. For Cornwell, it will be his first start as a Bulldog and sixth overall appearance. KSU has not announced its rotation. Georgia has a 5-2 edge in the series with KSU including an 11-7 win last year in Athens. This will be the first-ever series with Siena.

The Bulldogs play 10 of their first 18 games on the road this year before starting SEC action. Georgia will be without starting shortstop and leading hitter Kyle Farmer (.458-0-5) for at least the next two weeks due to a left wrist injury after he broke the hamate bone in a win over Stetson Feb. 26. With Farmer out, Georgia has shuffled its infield. During the FSU series, sophomore Colby May started at three different spots (SS-Friday, 2B-Saturday; 3B-Sunday). Freshman Todd Hankins moved to shortstop from second base for the last two games of the series. On Sunday, pitcher/infielder Cooper Moseley made his first start at second base. On Saturday, Moseley pitched two scoreless innings in relief against the Seminoles.

Taylor Continues As RBI Leader: Sophomore LF Johnathan Taylor leads the Bulldogs with 12 RBI and that’s impressive considering he is the leadoff hitter. Last year in 123 at bats, Taylor hit .309 with 10 RBI. He is off to a great start in 2010, batting .341 with 12 RBI in 44 at bats and a .491 OB%. Five of his 12 RBI have come with two outs. Also, he has displayed a much stronger arm with 19 putouts and 1 assist.

Hitting Streaks: Sophomore C/3B Christian Glisson has a 3-game streak and has hit safely in 10 of the 12 games this year. Glisson leads active players with a .455 batting average. Sophomore RF Peter Verdin had the longest hitting streak this season at 12 (1st 10 games this year plus the final two from 2009), but it was snapped this past Saturday at #6 Florida State.

Behind The Mask: Georgia has employed three different catchers this season, and they have all proven to be adept at handling the pitching staff and contributing offensively. Sophomore Christian Glisson has appeared in all 12 games with 8 starts behind the plate. He leads the team with a .455 (average. Freshman Brett DeLoach has played in 9 games with 2 starts at catcher while sophomore Carson Schilling has played in 6 games with 2 starts at catcher. One area Georgia looks to improve on is handling the running game. Georgia and its opponents are both 20-for-25 in stolen base attempts this season.

Foley Field Ticket Information

Single-game tickets for all University of Georgia home baseball games are currently on sale. Reserved seat tickets to see the Bulldogs play at home this season are $8 each and General Admission tickets are $5 each. Single game tickets can be ordered online via the georgiadogs.com online ticket office, by calling 1-877-542-1231 or in person at the UGA Athletic Association Ticket Office located in the Butts-Mehre building.

Bulldogs On The Radio/GXtra

Fans wishing to follow all the action of the 2010 University of Georgia baseball team can tune in to Cox Radio Athens and via GXtra subscription on the Internet on www.georgiadogs.com.

As part of the Georgia Bulldog Radio Network from ISP Sports, all Georgia baseball games will be heard locally on WRFC 960 AM or WGAU 1340 AM. The veteran Bulldog team of Jeff Dantzler and David Johnston will serve as announcers on the broadcasts. All games will be produced through the ISP studios in Winston Salem, N.C.

Fan can subscribe to GXtra and listen to every game online through georgiadogs.com. A monthly audio subscription is $6.95, a monthly audio and video pass that covers all sports is $9.95 while an annual audio and video pass for all sports is $89.95. Selected Georgia baseball home games including the season opener will have live streaming video.

Top-Ranked Riders Fall to No. 2 Auburn 11-6

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

AUBURN, Ala. -- Second-ranked Auburn won both disciplines and two of the four riding events to claim an 11-6 overall victory over visiting No. 1 Georgia here Saturday afternoon at the Auburn Equestrian Center.

Three of the four events were closely contested between these two powerhouses, with both Equitation over Fences and Reining ending in a 2-all draw. Auburn claimed a narrow 3-2 victory in Western Horsemanship when Jessica Jones outpointed Georgia senior Lauren Love in the last ride of the event.

Auburn (11-2), however, won the meet by claiming four of the possible five points in the Hunt Seat Equitation on the Flat event. The fifth point ended in a draw when Georgia’s Michelle Morris matched the 74 tallied by Auburn rider Maggie McAlary.

“Auburn did a very good job today and they deserve the credit,” Georgia coach Meghan Boenig said. “We had some little mistakes, nothing major, but when the bar is set so high, those mistakes add up very quickly. We leave here today knowing that we will need to learn from the experience to be ready for the postseason. But we also have to get ready for another competition tomorrow.”

Georgia (9-2) did manage to claim winning rides twice in the Fences competition. Junior tri-captain Kacy Jenkins took a 5-point decision over Auburn’s Anna Schierholz. Freshman Carly Anthony also won a point for Georgia with a 6-point margin and a score of 85.

Georgia’s only MVP ride of the day was produced by sophomore Michelle Fulcher in the Horsemanship event. Her score of 72 edged Auburn’s Indy Roper by a single point. Georgia claimed one other winning ride in Horsemanship from senior Alicia Shrum.

Point winners for Georgia in Reining included Kelly Truesdell and Becca Haaland.

Georgia’s Kat Majester Automatically Qualifies For NCAA Championships

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Georgia’s Kat Majester automatically qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships with a career-best mark in the pole vault at the Virginia Tech Final Qualifier in Blacksburg, Va., on Saturday.

Majester’s performance highlighted five personal-best efforts by Georgia. The Bulldog men finished with three career-best marks while the Lady Bulldogs tallied a pair versus a wide variety of opponents from across the country.

“We usually do well at these meets, especially (in Blacksburg),” said head coach Wayne Norton. “Some of the folks may not have qualified for nationals, but they made progress. I think this extra meet is a good one for us since we are usually just hitting our stride by this point in the season. I have actually thought about having the whole team compete the weekend after SECs. Hopefully, our crew will carry what they did in this meet over into the NCAAs and the outdoor season.”

While some of Georgia’s team members will be forced to wait and see if their NCAA provisional qualifying mark earned them a spot at NCAAs, Majester automatically qualified for the national meet with her performance in Blacksburg.

Majester, a graduate student at UGA after cheering for Clemson during her undergraduate years, moved from No. 4 to No. 3 in the Lady Bulldog record books after clearing 13 feet, 11 ¼ inches on her third attempt to win. She scored at the Southeastern Conference Championships last weekend after reaching a personal-best height of 13-6.50.

Majester now is tied for the 12th-best jump in the nation this year, according to the most recent national performance list.

Freshman Jade Riebold also improved her career-best mark in the pole vault, finishing third with a jump of 13-5.75. Although this was not an NCAA automatic qualifying mark, it will improve her spot on the national performance list.

In the men’s weight throw, Danis answered Freeman’s early challenge to win the event as both Bulldogs finished with career-best efforts. After Freeman unleashed the top throw of his career (69-1.25) on his second throw, Danis launched the longest toss of his career (69-3.25) on his fourth throw to take first at the meet and move to No. 6 on Georgia’s all-time top-10 list.

This gives Danis and Freeman the eighth- and ninth-best marks in the nation, according to the national performance list.

Sophomore Aaron LaGarde also nailed down a personal-best mark after traveling an NCAA provisional qualifying 52-3.25 to take second in the triple jump. This effort moves LaGarde from ninth to eighth in the Bulldog record books and 18th on the national performance list.

Also, junior Cory Holman won the high jump, but did not have an improvement after going over the bar at 6-11. Holman broke the SEC Championships meet record after soaring to a height of 7-1.75 during his third-place finish in the heptathlon.

Georgia’s qualified team members will return to Fayetteville, Ark., for the third time this season when the NCAA Indoor Championships arrive on Friday, March 12 and Saturday, March 13.

Full results and a recap from the Virginia Tech Final Qualifier are located at georgiadogs.com.

Georgia’s NCAA Automatic Qualifiers on Saturday
Name Event/Place Mark
Kat Majester Pole vault/1st *13-11.25

Georgia’s NCAA Provisional Qualifiers on Saturday
Name Event/Place Mark
Jade Riebold Pole vault/3rd *13-5.75
Branislav Danis Weight/1st *69-3.25
John Freeman Weight/2nd *69-1.25
Aaron LaGarde Triple jump/2nd *52-3.25

- personal-best mark

###

Bulldogs Fall To LSU In Regular Season Finale

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

BATON ROUGE, La. - Georgia (13-16, 5-11) fell to LSU (11-19, 2-14) 50-48 after missing a game-tying shot in the final seconds during the Bulldogs’ regular season finale in Baton Rouge on Saturday.

Bulldog junior Jeremy Price missed a fall-away jumper with three seconds left during Georgia’s final possession of the game. LSU’s Bo Spencer had drilled a shot with 11 seconds left that gave the Tigers a 50-48 lead.

The Bulldogs are the No. 6 seed in the Southeastern Conference’s Eastern Division and will take on Arkansas in the first round of the SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tenn., on Thursday. The Razorbacks are the No. 3 seed from the Western Division.

“I am really disappointed with today’s game,” said Georgia head coach Mark Fox. “A couple of our guys came to play and a couple were just not mentally ready to go. We knew we were going to play against a lot of zone coverage but our perimeter play wasn’t really what it has been recently.”

The Bulldogs had a 42-41 edge on sophomore Trey Thompkins’ jumper with 5:35 left in the contest. But Spencer connected for three with 4:42 left to put the Tigers up 44-42 and Georgia never led the game again. Sophomore Travis Leslie, who came into Saturday’s game averaging double figures for Georgia, scored on a lay-up to even the score at 48, but Spencer was again able to answer.

Georgia held the Tigers without a field goal for the first 7:51 of the opening half to take an early lead. After the Bulldogs managed to jump out to a 7-2 lead thanks in part to Price’s dunk at the 14:52 mark, LSU scored the first half’s final four points to knot the score at 20-all.

In a matchup featuring nine ties, LSU scored 29 of their 50 points on second-chance opportunities and off of Georgia’s 16 turnovers. The Bulldogs finished the game shooting just 4-for-15 (26.7 percent) from beyond the arc, while the Tigers were just 5-for-22 (22.7 percent) from behind the three-point line..

Thompkins was the Bulldogs’ leading scorer with 19 points and 16 rebounds, eight of those being offensive. Leslie added seven points and six rebounds, despite committing a team-high six turnovers.

LSU senior Tasmin Mitchell led the Tigers with 20 points and six rebounds in his final home game. Spencer also added 10 points for LSU during the team’s second conference win of the year.

###

#6 FSU Stays Undefeated With 9-2 Win Over Georgia

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

TALLAHASSEE, FLA.——Sixth-ranked Florida State improved to 9-0 following a 9-2 win over No. 25 Georgia Saturday in front of a crowd of 5,287 at Dick Howser Stadium.

Georgia senior right-hander Jeff Walters needed 38 pitches to retire the Seminoles in the first as they got a leadoff double from Tyler Holt and eventually loaded the bases after a couple of walks but ultimately came away empty. Walters struck out two in the frame including Sherman Johnson for the final out. Walters never finished the second frame, leaving with the bases loaded and two outs and FSU up 3-0. In his first two starts this season, Walters had walked just one with 10 strikeouts in 10.2 innings. Senior Justin Earls came on for Walters and got Johnson to fly out to left on a 3-1 pitch to end the second. Walters issued a career-high six walks in 1.2 innings, allowing three runs on three hits and threw 72 pitches. FSU scored its three runs on a wild pitch, a single and a bases-loaded walk. The Seminoles came in the game with a team batting average of .387 and their starting nine had a combined average of .426. They collected 13 hits on the night as Holt finished 3-for-5 with three RBI.

“Even though it’s tough losing 9-2, I did see some progress,” said Georgia coach David Perno. “I saw a lot more positives after this bashing compared to Friday. The last four innings we got some shutouts on the mound, I saw some better approaches at the plate and the team fought hard.”

Georgia (6-5) got a run back in the third but FSU avoided a big inning courtesy of a couple base-running mistakes by the Bulldogs. Third baseman Kevin Ruiz and catcher Carson Schilling led off the inning with a couple of base hits and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Todd Hankins. On a 2-2 pitch, sophomore Johnathan Taylor drove in his team-leading 11th run with a high chopper to first that he beat out for a base hit. With runners at the corners for Colby May, he saw one pitch before the inning ended. First, FSU left-hander John Gast picked off Taylor. Then, his first pitch to May bounced off the plate and got a few feet away from catcher Rafael Lopez and Schilling tried to score. He was out by several feet to send the game to the bottom of the third. The Seminoles got the run right back on a two-out, run-scoring single by Holt off the glove of Ruiz for a 4-1 advantage. Gast had three pickoffs on the night, getting Brett DeLoach in the fourth and Hankins in the sixth to give the Seminoles eight on the year. He provided seven strong innings, allowing one run on seven hits for the victory to move his record to 3-0. Walters got the loss to fall to 0-1.

FSU broke open the game with a five-run outburst in the fourth, collecting six hits including three that never left the infield. Holt’s two-run triple capped the scoring as the Seminoles extended their lead to 9-1. Georgia turned to freshman Cooper Moseley to start the fifth. Earls allowed six runs on eight hits over 2.1 innings. For Earls, it was his 86th career appearance, which ranks fourth in school history. Former All-American Joshua Fields holds the school record with 114 appearances in his four-year career. Moseley tossed two shutout innings, giving up a pair of hits and recorded one strikeout. Freshman Blake Dieterich also pitched two scoreless innings.

May delivered a run-scoring double in the eighth off Hunter Scantling, bringing home freshman Robert Shipman who led off the inning with a walk. With one out and runners at second and third, FSU brought in Tyler Everett and he struck out Peter Verdin and then DeLoach worked a walk to load the bases for Zach Cone. Everett struck out Cone to keep it 9-2. Verdin went 0-for-4 on the night that ended his hitting streak at 10 games.

After the game, Perno indicated that May would return to third base on Sunday and Moseley would get the start at second base as injuries have forced Georgia to shuffle its infield since the season opener. In the FSU series, May has made starts at shortstop and second base. He started all 62 games last season at third base.

“We’re playing a very good Florida State team, and we’ve been able to see all our weaknesses in this series, and now it’s time to make the adjustments as conference season is only a couple weeks away,” said Perno.

The series concludes Sunday with first pitch slated for 1:06 p.m. as the game will be televised by SUN Sports. The Bulldogs will start sophomore right-hander Michael Palazzone (2-0, 6.00 ERA) while the Seminoles counter with junior right-hander Geoff Parker (1-0, 5.79 ERA).

No. 4 Georgia No Hits Minnesota, Defeats Elon To Extend Winning Streak

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

ATHENS, Ga. – Fourth-ranked Georgia extended its winning streak to 15 games with two wins on Saturday including an 8-0, five-inning no-hitter against Minnesota and an 8-2 victory over Elon in the Bulldog Invitational at the UGA Softball Stadium.

The two wins not only extended Georgia’s current winning streak to 15 games, but it also extended the Bulldogs (17-1) current home winning streak to 17 games dating back to the end of last season. Minnesota defeated Elon in the opening game on Saturday, 9-4, and moves to 8-13 on the year with the spilt while Elon drops to 9-3 with the two losses. Middle Tennessee (4-7) outlasted Belmont (1-11), 6-4, in the second contest of the day.

The no-hitter against Minnesota featured sophomore Erin Arevalo and junior Katie Murphy in the circle, and it was the first no-hitter for both players in their Georgia career and the 25th in program history. Arevalo pitched four perfect innings striking out six to improve to 10-1, and Murphy closed out the game striking out two more batters in the fifth.

Additionally, the no hitter marked just the second time in UGA history the Bulldogs have tossed no hitters in back-to-back games. In Friday night’s final game of the Invitational, junior Sarah McCloud and freshman Alison Owen no hit Belmont. The only other time that UGA has posted consecutive no hitters was on Feb. 23, 2004, when Michelle Green no hit Virginia Tech and Katie Griffith threw a perfect game against Appalachian State in the Georgia Invitational.

For Arevalo, the four innings of work against the Golden Gophers extended her streak of innings pitched without surrendering an earned run to 54.0.

Against Elon, Owen entered in relief of McCloud with one out in the second inning and went the rest of the way striking out five to earn her first collegiate victory.

Offensively, Georgia had five different players produce RBI against Minnesota led by sophomore Ashley Pauly’s three to hand Alissa Koch (0-8) the loss. In the second contest versus Elon, junior Laura Trout drove in three runs and junior Brianna Hesson drove in two more to pace the Bulldogs to a defeat of Phoenix pitcher Erin O’Shea (4-1).

The Bulldog Invitational will conclude with three games on Sunday. The first two games will feature Belmont, who will play Minnesota at 9 a.m. ET and Elon at 11:15 a.m. Georgia will play in the tournament’s final game against Middle Tennessee at 1:30 p.m. Live stats for all games will be available on www.georgiadogs.com, and live audio can be heard for the Bulldogs’ contest.

Game One: Georgia 8, Minnesota 0 (5 Innings) – No Hitter

WP: Erin Arevalo (10-1)
LP: Alissa Koch (0-8)

In support of Arevalo and Murphy’s no hitter against Minnesota, the Georgia offense produced eight runs on nine hits and six stolen bases.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first. Junior Taylor Schlopy started the offensive attack with a single up the middle and stole second. Two batters later, Hesson singled moving Schlopy to third, and sophomore Kristyn Sandberg followed with an RBI single through the left side that kept runners on the corners. Next, Sandberg stole second, and on the play, a throwing error allowed Hesson come in to score. Two walks the loaded the bases for Trout, who provided a sacrifice fly out to right. Pauly capped the scoring in the inning with a two-run single to right.

In the third, the Bulldogs extended the lead to 8-0. Junior Alisa Goler started the inning with a four-pitch walk, and freshman Macie Couey entered as a pinch runner. A single and stolen base from Trout put runners at second and third for Pauly, who would reach on a fielder’s choice as Couey scored by beating a throw to the plate. Consecutive walks to freshman Amberlie Saxton and Schlopy pushed across a run. Two batters later, Hesson made contact on a checked swing but safely reached first before the throw to pick up an RBI with Pauly scoring.

Game Two: Georgia, Elon

WP: Alison Owen (1-0)
LP: Erin O’Shea (4-1).

Against Elon, Georgia saw its streak of 20 innings without allowing a run come to an end in the top of the first. After a pair of singles and stolen bases gave the Phoenix runners at second and third, Emerald Graham picked up an RBI on a groundout to give Elon a 1-0 lead.

The Dogs didn’t take long to answer with Hesson tying the game at 1-1 with an RBI double to right center in the bottom of the inning. Schlopy scored the run after walking, stealing second and moving to third on a throwing error.

In the third, Georgia put up five runs to go up 6-1. The Dogs loaded the bases to start the inning as Schlopy walked, junior Megan Wiggins singled and Goler drew another walk. Hesson then notched an RBI on a sacrifice fly, and Sandberg followed with a run-scoring single. Sophomore Brittany Hubbard, who entered as a pinch runner for Goler, scored the inning’s third run on a wild pitch. Next, Trout highlighted the inning with a two-run home run that cleared the scoreboard in left field.

Elon scored its second run of the game in the top of the fourth on a double to right center from Caitlin McGowan. Kaitlyn Piazzolla scored the run after starting the frame off with a single to left.

Georgia gave the game its final margin with a run in the bottom of the sixth. After loading the bases with two outs, Trout and Saxton each picked up an RBI with a pair of walks.

BULLDOG INVITATIONAL RESULTS & REMAINING SCHEDULE (ALL TIMES EASTERN):
Friday, March 5:
Middle Tennessee 10, Minnesota 2 (5 Innings)
Elon 6, Middle Tennessee 1
Georgia 7, Minnesota 0
Georgia 10, Belmont 0 (5 Innings)

Saturday, March 6:
Minnesota 9, Elon 4
Middle Tennessee 6, Belmont 4
Georgia 8, Minnesota 0 (5 Innings)
Georgia 8, Elon 2

Sunday, March 7:
9 a.m. Belmont vs. Minnesota
11:15 p.m. Belmont vs. Elon
1:30 p.m. Georgia vs. Middle Tennessee

FSU Sweeps Georgia

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

TALLAHASSEE, FLA.——Sixth-ranked Florida State completed a three-game sweep of No. 25 Georgia Sunday, posting a 17-5 win before a crowd of 5,297 at Dick Howser Stadium.

The Seminoles continued a perfect start to their season at 10-0 while the Bulldogs lost their fourth straight to fall to 6-6. For the second day in a row, Georgia’s starting pitcher failed to make it out of the second inning and the staff walked a season-high 14 Sunday. In the first, the Bulldogs fell behind 2-0. Tyler Holt led off with a walk, advanced to third on a chopper by James Ramsey that bounced over the head of Chase Davidson at first. Sophomore right fielder Peter Verdin did not come up with it cleanly, allowing Ramsey to go to second on the error. Shortstop Stephen Cardullo followed with a two-run single. After a mound visit by Bulldog head coach David Perno, sophomore right-hander Michael Palazzone retired the next three Seminoles to end the first.

The Bulldog cut the deficit in half in the second. With one out, catcher Christian Glisson drew a walk, took second a failed pickoff attempt by Geoff Parker and then scored easily on a double to right center by sophomore Zach Cone. FSU answered with a five-run outburst in the bottom of the frame, chasing Palazzone who surrendered seven runs on five hits in 1.1 innings. Sophomore left-hander Chase Hawkins came on with the bases loaded and one out. He made a nifty play on a bouncer by Stuart Tapley to get a force out at home but then Sherman Johnson smacked a two-run single to cap the scoring in the frame.

In the fourth, Glisson won an 11-pitch battle with Parker, lining a double down the left field line, moving Colby May to third after he reached on a one-out single. He struck out Cone and then freshman designated hitter Robert Shipman kept the inning going with a two-run single. Freshman shortstop Todd Hankins reached on an error by first baseman Jayce Boyd as Shipman took third. Then, second baseman Cooper Moseley drew a walk to load the bases for Johnathan Taylor. He worked a walk for his team-leading 12th RBI and made it a 7-4 contest. Parker escaped further damage by getting Verdin to pop out to first to end the rally. FSU got one of the runs back in the bottom of the fourth as Cardullo reached on a throwing error by Hankins, went to second on a balk by Hawkins and scored on a base hit by Tapley. FSU went to the bullpen to start the fifth, bringing in left-hander Brian Busch. Parker allowed four runs on four hits with three walks and six strikeouts.

Georgia turned to sophomore Cecil Tanner for the bottom of the fifth after Hawkins provided 2.2 innings of relief. FSU added six runs one one hit off of Tanner who issued six walks, three wild pitches, hit a batter and had a balk in the frame to make it a 14-4 contest. There was more trouble for the Bulldogs in the sixth. Senior Alex McRee failed to retire a batter, walking the first three batters he faced and left with a 2-0 count on Tapley. Junior John Herman made his Bulldog debut. He was greeted with a two-run double by Tapley. FSU pushed across one more run before the inning was over to extend its lead to 17-4. Pinch-hitter Kevin Ruiz had a run-scoring single in the seventh for Georgia’s final run.

“We’re fighting it on all fronts, and I know it can’t get much worse,” said Georgia coach David Perno. “I’m speechless especially about what happened with Alex (McRee) and Cecil (Tanner) because we haven’t seen that before. That’s the greater issue is getting them straight. Last week, Alex get a couple of saves and today he was out of whack. We’re going to have make some changes with our lineup and pitching staff because this weekend was a big test and we didn’t look very good. The good thing is that it wasn’t a conference weekend, and we’ve got a couple weeks to figure some things out.”

Perno added that Taylor, DeLoach and Shipman were bright spots offensively, and he was pleased with how Moseley pitched Saturday and did in his debut at second base Sunday.

Georgia will be back in action Tuesday when it plays host to Kennesaw State. First pitch at Foley Field will be at 5 p.m. It will be the first of a two-game set with the Owls. Georgia will travel to Kennesaw on Wednesday to face the Owls at 5 p.m.

Women's Tennis Dodges Upset, 4-3

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

ATHENS, Ga. - The 17th-ranked Georgia women’s tennis team edged the
36th-ranked Auburn Tigers 4-3 in another close match on Sunday at the
Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

Georgia (6-3, 2-0 SEC) was first off the court in doubles when No. 1
team Chelsey Gullickson and Nadja Gilchrist won 8-5 against unranked
Auburn duo Myrthe Molenveld and Caroline Thornton. It was the
Gullickson/Gilchrist team’s 12th straight victory to improve their
record to 13-3 on the season.

Auburn (6-4, 0-2 SEC) was next off the court, when No. 3 Plamena
Kurteva and Paulina Schippers defeated Naoko Ueshima and Lara Fakhoury
8-5.

The doubles point came down to the second court where duo Yvette
Hyndman and Cameron Ellis were taking on Auburn’s Fani Chifchieva and
Jil Hastenrath. The match went back-and-forth for over 90 minutes with
the Tigers clinching the doubles point 6-8 and giving Auburn a 1-0
lead.

“Auburn played a great match against us today and won the doubles
point,” said head coach Jeff Wallace. “We’ve been playing good doubles
and winning a lot of doubles points and we didn’t get it today, so we
had to come out with our singles and find ways to get it done.”

During singles play, No. 5 Ellis was first off the court when she
swept Auburn’s Schippers (6-0, 6-0) to win the Bulldogs’ first match
point. 23rd-ranked Gilchrist then quickly downed the Tiger’s No. 2
Molenveld (6-1, 6-1) to take the second point for Georgia of the day.

Hyndman won the third team point and was the fourth player finished,
breaking Daniela Vukadinovic on the third court (6-0, 7-5).

6th-ranked Gullickson dropped to 16-5 overall on the season when she
fell to 76th-ranked player Chifchieva. After falling in the first set,
Gullickson won the second set, but Chifchieva went on to break
Gullickson in the third set of the match and won (3-6, 6-1, 7-5). With
the win, the Tigers tied Georgia 3-3.

The final point came down to the No. 4 court, where Ueshima defeated
Thornton in two sets (6-4, 6-1). With the win, Ueshima improved to 4-1
at #4 while Georgia picked up its fourth and final point of the match.

“Nadja played an outstanding match and Cameron played outstanding,”
Wallace said. “They were both off the court early and put us up 2-1.
For Yvette, she won her first set easy then had a real battle in the
second set, but she found her way and did a good job there.

“[Naoko] clinched the match for us in a tough, hard-fought match and
did a great job. Overall, it was a great SEC victory for the Dawgs.”

Georgia will travel to Lexington, Ky. Friday to take on the Kentucky
Wildcats for its first away game of the outdoor season. The time of
the match has yet to be determined.

Georgia 4, #36 Auburn 3
Singles competition
1. #76 Fani Chifchieva (AU) def. #6 Chelsey Gullickson (UGA) 6-3, 1-6, 7-5
2. #23 Nadja Gilchrist (UGA) def. Myrthe Molenveld (AU) 6-1, 6-1
3. Yvette Hyndman (UGA) def. Daniela Vukadinovic (AU) 6-0, 7-5
4. Naoko Ueshima (UGA) def. Caroline Thornton (AU) 6-4, 6-1
5. Cameron Ellis (UGA) def. Paulina Schippers (AU) 6-0, 6-0
6. Jil Hastenrath (AU) def. Lara Fakhoury (UGA) 6-4, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. #7 Chelsey Gullickson/Nadja Gilchrist (UGA) def. Myrthe
Molenveld/Caroline Thornton (AU) 8-5
2. Fani Chifchieva/Jil Hastenrath (AU) def. Yvette Hyndman/Cameron
Ellis (UGA) 8-6
3. Plamena Kurteva/Paulina Schippers (AU) def. Lara Fakhoury/Naoko
Ueshima (UGA) 8-5

Match Notes:
Auburn 6-4; National ranking #36; Georgia 6-3; National ranking #17
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (5,2,6,3,1,4)
Official: Bob Sanford

Georgia Beats Auburn, 6-1

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

AUBURN, Ala.——-The 11th-ranked Georgia men’s tennis team completed a successful opening weekend of SEC play with a 6-1 win over Auburn Sunday at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.

The Bulldogs improved to 9-2 overall and 2-0 in SEC play and won for the 47th time in their last 49 regular season league matches. Auburn dropped to 3-6 and 0-2 in conference play.

“It was a good match today,” said Georgia coach Manuel Diaz. “Our guys fought hard. They were prepared for the challenge today and did a good job.”

Georgia swept the doubles point for the fourth time this season to take a 1-0 lead. The 34th-ranked tandem of Drake Bernstein and Javier Garrapiz cruised past Andreas Mies and Alexander Sajonz, 8-1, then the Bulldogs won close matches at Nos. 1 and 3. Christian Vitulli and Bo Seal clinched the doubles point at No. 3 with a 9-8(3) win over Tim Hewitt and Lucas Lopasso. Shortly following, Nate Schnugg and Jamie Hunt completed the sweep at No. 1 with a 9-8(7) win over Auburn’s seventh-ranked Tim Puetz and Alex Stamchev.

“We had a good win at No. 1 doubles,” Diaz said. “We’ve been struggling a little bit, but today they came out with a lot more energy and stayed positive against a very good team. Hopefully this will give them confidence and they’ll continue to make progress.”

In singles, Vitulli gave Georgia a 2-0 lead with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Oliver Strecker, then the Bulldogs moved ahead 3-0 with No. 29 Garrapiz’s 6-2, 6-3 win over 26th-ranked Puetz. Schnugg provided the clincher at No. 2 with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Hewitt. Vitulli, Garrapiz and Schnugg each recorded their fourth consecutive win.

At No. 4, Seal downed Auburn’s Lopasso, 6-4, 6-4, and Bernstein outlasted Mies at No. 5, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4. The Tigers’ only win came at No. 3 where 89th-ranked Alex Stamchev rallied to beat Hunt, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.

“Javy did a tremendous job at No. 1,” Diaz said. “Nate took a step in the right direction and continues to improve. Christian and Bo did a good job in their matches. Stamchev from Auburn really played well the last two sets against Jamie and you have to give him credit.”

Georgia returns home for a six-match homestand beginning with William & Mary Tuesday at 2 p.m. Vanderbilt and eighth-ranked Kentucky then visit the Dan Magill Tennis Complex next weekend.

“We have a quick turnaround with William & Mary coming in on Tuesday,” Diaz said. “Our guys are tired, it’s been a long trip, but we have to prepare for another match. It’s going to be a big week, and we’re looking forward to having big crowds at home.”

Diaz is just three wins shy of his 500th career win.

Tennis Match Results
Georgia vs. Auburn
Mar 07, 2010 at Auburn, Ala.
(Yarbrough Tennis Center)

Georgia 6, #56 Auburn 1

Singles competition
1. #29 Javier Garrapiz (UGA) def. #26 Tim Puetz (AU) 6‐2, 6‐3
2. #105 Nate Schnugg (UGA) def. Tim Hewitt (AU) 7‐5, 6‐3
3. #89 Alex Stamchev (AU) def. Jamie Hunt (UGA) 3‐6, 6‐2, 6‐3
4. #104 Bo Seal (UGA) def. Lucas Lopasso (AU) 6‐4, 6‐4
5. Drake Bernstein (UGA) def. Andreas Mies (AU) 6‐2, 2‐6, 6‐4
6. Christian Vitulli (UGA) def. Oliver Strecker (AU) 6‐3, 6‐3

Doubles competition
1. Jamie Hunt/Nate Schnugg (UGA) def. #7 Tim Puetz/Alex Stamchev (AU) 9‐8 (9‐7)
2. #34 Javier Garrapiz/Drake Bernstein (UGA) def. Andreas Mies/Alexander Sajonz (AU) 8‐1
3. Christian Vitulli/Bo Seal (UGA) def. Tim Hewitt/Lucas Lopasso (AU) 9‐8 (7‐3)
Match Notes:
Georgia 9‐2; National ranking #11
Auburn 3‐6; National ranking #56
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (6,1,2,4,5,3)
T‐3:57 A‐298

Fourth-Ranked Georgia No Hits Middle Tennessee, Wins Bulldog Invitational

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

ATHENS, Ga. – Sophomore Erin Arevalo and junior Katie Murphy combined to no hit Middle Tennessee Sunday at the UGA Softball Stadium to lead fourth-ranked Georgia to the Bulldog Invitational title.

Arevalo tossed the first four innings facing just one batter over the minimum while striking out three to notch the win and improve to 11-1, and Murphy closed out the contest with a perfect fifth inning. It marked the second time the pitching duo combined for a no-hitter in the Bulldog Invitational after doing so against Minnesota on Saturday, and Georgia finished the home tournament with three no-hitters as sophomore Sarah McCloud and freshman Alison Owen no hit Belmont on Friday. The four innings for Arevalo on Sunday improved her streak of consecutive innings without allowing an earned run to 58.0.

On the weekend, Georgia (18-1) went 5-0 to earn its third-straight tournament title this season and extend its current winning streak to 16 games. As a team, the Bulldogs batted .417 with seven home runs and outscored opponents 41-2. UGA also stole 29 bases in the tournament to raise the team’s season total to 75 swipes, which is just three shy of last year’s total of 78.

Four Bulldogs hit over .400 to lead the offensive attack including junior Taylor Schlopy at .727 (8-for-11), sophomore Kristyn Sandberg at .692 (9-for-13), junior Laura Trout at .556 (5-for-9) and junior Brianna Hesson at .417 (5-for-12). Schlopy led the team with seven runs scored and two triples while also tying Trout for the lead in home runs with two and junior Megan Wiggins for the lead in stolen bases with five. Sandberg finished tops on the team with seven RBI for the tournament.

In Sunday’s Invitational finale, Arevalo and Murphy’s no-hitter, the 26th in school history, was supported by 10-hits including three home runs and five stolen bases. Georgia jumped out to a six-run advantage in the first inning highlighted by a two-run double from Hesson, a two-run, opposite field home run from sophomore Ashley Razey and a solo home run to right on a 3-0 count from sophomore Ashley Pauly.

The Bulldogs then scored a run in both the fourth and fifth innings the win by the run-rule. In the fourth, Schlopy provided a one-out solo home run to left, and in the fifth, Sandberg doubled in the game-ending run. Sophomore Brittney Hubbard scored the last run after entering to pinch run for Hesson, who led off the frame with a double to right center.

In earlier Invitational action on Sunday, Belmont (1-13) fell to Minnesota, 2-0, and Elon, 14-6, and closed its appearance in Athens at 0-4. Middle Tennessee (4-8) and Elon (10-3) finished with identical 2-2 records in the tournament while Minnesota (8-13) went 2-3.

Up next, Georgia continues its 21-game home stand as it moves into Southeastern Conference play. The Bulldogs will host the third-ranked Florida Gators for a double header on Wednesday starting at 3 p.m. ET, and sixth-ranked Alabama visits Athens for a three-game series March 13-14.

Bulldogs Invitational Results:
Friday, March 5:
Middle Tennessee 10, Minnesota 2 (5 Innings)
Elon 6, Middle Tennessee 1
Georgia 7, Minnesota 0
Georgia 10, Belmont 0 (5 Innings)

Saturday, March 6:
Minnesota 9, Elon 4
Middle Tennessee 6, Belmont 4
Georgia 8, Minnesota 0 (5 Innings)
Georgia 8, Elon 2

Sunday, March 7:
Minnesota 2, Belmont 0
Elon 14, Belmont 6
Georgia 8, Middle Tennessee 0 (5 Innings)

No. 11 Georgia Holds Off No. 25 Alabama, 4-2

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.——-Georgia senior Nate Schnugg trailed Ricky Doverspike 4-2 in the third set, but rallied to win the next four games to lift the 11th-ranked Bulldogs to a 4-2 win over No. 25 Alabama Friday at the University of Alabama Tennis Stadium.

Georgia led 3-0 only to see the Crimson Tide close the gap to 3-2 with two matches remaining. The match between No. 104 Bo Seal and Michael Thompson was suspended when Schnugg clinched the win for the Bulldogs.

“It was a great college tennis match,” said Manuel Diaz, who won his 496th career match as Georgia’s head coach. “Both teams fought very hard. I’m really proud of Nate. He showed great composure and probably played his best tennis. I think his experience played a big part in him coming back, and it was good to see him play with confidence and win the last four games like he did.”

Georgia (8-2, 1-0 SEC) grabbed the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead with wins at Nos. 2 and 3. The 34th-ranked duo of Javier Garrapiz and Drake Bernstein downed Ricky Doverspike and Jarryd Botha, 8-2, before Alabama (6-6, 0-1) evened it up with an 8-6 by Saketh Myneni and Michael Davis over Schnugg and Jamie Hunt at No. 1.

Seal and Christian Vitulli snapped their three-meet skid with an 8-4 win over Trey Walston and Houssam Yassine at No. 3.

“We played well at two and three doubles and they played well at No. 1,” Diaz said. “It’s important that we not fall behind early on. We need to understand that momentum is going to play a big part and we have to get off to a good start.”

Vitulli gave Georgia a 2-0 lead with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Davis at No. 6, then No. 29 Garrapiz cruised past 38th-ranked Myneni, 6-2, 6-1 at No. 1. It was the ninth win of the season over a ranked opponent for Garrapiz, who was playing at No. 1 for the first time since the win over Georgia Tech on Feb. 7.

Alabama then cut the deficit to 3-2 with wins at Nos. 3 and 5. Bernstein fell to Yassine, 6-4, 6-2, and Hunt had his seven-match win streak stopped by Botha at No. 3, 6-2, 7-6(4). That set the stage for Schnugg, who clinched the match with his 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-4 win over Doverspike at No. 2.

“In singles they battled us hard, but our guys held strong,” Diaz said. "Javy and Christian gave us momentum but Alabama wouldn’t go away. Jamie did a good job of staying in his match and so did Bo.”

Seal, who played at No. 4 for just the second time this season, won the first set 6-4, lost the second set 7-5, and trailed 2-1 in the third set to Thompson when the match was halted.

The Bulldogs improved to 48-6 all-time against Alabama and haven’t lost to the Tide since 2003.

Georgia will take on No. 56 Auburn Sunday at 2 p.m. at the City of Auburn/Auburn University Yarbrough Tennis Center.

Tennis Match Results
Georgia vs. Alabama
March 5, 2010 at Tuscaloosa, Ala.
(University of Alabama Tennis Stadium)

Georgia 4, #25 Alabama 2

Singles competition
1. #29 Javier Garrapiz (UGA) def. #38 Saketh Myneni (UA) 6-2, 6-1
2. #105 Nate Schnugg (UGA) def. Ricky Doverspike (UA) 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4
3. Jarryd Botha (UA) def. Jamie Hunt (UGA) 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
4. Michael Thompson (UA) vs. #104 Bo Seal (UGA) 4-6, 7-5, 2-1, unfinished
5. Houssam Yassine (UA) def. Drake Bernstein (UGA) 6-4, 6-2
6. Christian Vitulli (UGA) def. Michael Davis (UA) 6-1, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. Saketh Myneni/Michael Davis (UA) def. Jamie Hunt/Nate Schnugg (UGA) 8-6
2. #34 Javier Garrapiz/Drake Bernstein (UGA) def. Ricky Doverspike/Jarryd Botha (UA) 8-2
3. Christian Vitulli/Bo Seal (UGA) def. Trey Walston/Houssam Yassine (UA) 8-4
Match Notes:
Georgia 8-2, 1-0 SEC; National ranking #11; Regional ranking #2
Alabama 6-6, 0-1 SEC; National ranking #25; Regional ranking #2
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (6,1,5,3,2)

No. 4 Georgia Softball Records Two Shutouts Including No-Hitter Against Belmont

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

ATHENS, Ga. – Fourth-ranked Georgia tied a school record with nine stolen bases in a 7-0 victory over Minnesota and no hit Belmont in a five-inning, 10-0 contest on the first day of play in the Bulldog Invitational on Friday at the UGA Softball Stadium.

With the two victories, Georgia improves to 15-1 and extends its current winning streak to 13 games. Minnesota, who fell to Middle Tennessee, 10-2, in the Invitational’s opening game falls to 7-12 on the year, and Belmont drops to 1-10. In the second of four tournament games Friday, Middle Tennessee (3-7) fell to Elon (9-1) by a score of 6-1.

Georgia’s nine stolen bases against Minnesota matched the school record established in 2002 against Marshall. The record-tying nine swipes help lead the Bulldogs to seven runs as they scored three times on wild pitches and twice on sacrifice flies. Junior Taylor Schlopy drove in the other two runs on a two-out, infield single.

The seven runs proved to be more than enough for reigning Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Week Erin Arevalo (9-1), who tossed six innings allowing just three hits and one walk while matching her career-high with nine strikeouts. Junior transfer Alanna Hadley made her Bulldog debut pitching a hitless seventh. Minnesota’s Lacey Middlebrooks worked a complete game but fell to 7-5 with the loss.

Against Belmont, sophomore Sarah McCloud and freshman Alison Owen combined for the 24th no-hitter in school history. McCloud earned the win and improved to 4-0 after tossing the first four innings with five strikeouts, and Owen closed out the contest by pitching the fifth. For Belmont, Devon Schmidt fell to 1-5 with loss.

Offensively against the Bruins, Georgia swiped another five bases and hit three home runs en route to producing its 10 runs. Sophomore Kristyn Sandberg, making her first-career start at shortstop, led the way with by tying a career-high four RBI including a three-run home run in the first. Schlopy added a two-run homer in the second while junior Laura Trout hit the third long ball of the game, another two-run shot, in the third.

The Bulldog Invitational continues on Saturday with four games on the schedule starting with Minnesota playing Elon at 10 a.m. ET followed by Middle Tennessee and Belmont at 12:15 p.m. Georgia will then take the field at 2:30 p.m. in a second contest with Minnesota in as many days before facing Elon at 4:45 p.m. Live stats for all games will be available on www.georgiadogs.com, and live audio will also be available for the Georgia-Minnesota contest.

Game One: Georgia 7, Minnesota 0

WP: Erin Arevalo (9-1)
LP: Lacey Middlebrooks (7-5)

Georgia picked up its first run of the day in the bottom of the first against Minnesota. Schlopy reached third on a fielding error that went to the outfield wall setting up a sacrifice fly to right from junior Megan Wiggins.

In the second, the Bulldogs extended the lead to 3-0. Sophomore Ashley Razey drew a walk, and freshman Macie Couey entered to pinch run. Couey then stole the first base of the game before Sandberg took a walk. The two base runners then double stole moving up to second and third. After freshman Amberlie Saxton hit into a fielder’s choice leaving runners at the corners, she swiped second. Next, a walk would load the bases, and a wild pitch allowed Sandberg to score and Saxton to advance to third. Sophomore Ashley Pauly then provided the second sacrifice fly.

In the third, UGA added three more runs to make it a 6-0 game. Razey doubled, moved to third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch for the first run. Later in the inning with two outs, Trout beat out an infield hit to second base and would move around to third on stolen base and a wild pitch. Pauly drew a walk in the next plate appearance and stole second to give the Dogs two runners in scoring position. Schlopy then hit a high bouncing ball to shortstop and beat the throw to first, and on the play Trout scored as did Pauly, who broke for third and round the bag without slowing down on the hit. Schlopy added another stolen base before the inning came to a close.

The final run for Georgia came in the fifth. Junior Alisa Goler drew a walk, and sophomore Brittany Hubbard entered as a pinch runner and stole the ninth base of the game tying the school record. UGA then went on to load the bases, and sophomore Brianna Hesson scored the run on a wild pitch.

Game Two: Georgia 10, Belmont 0 (5 Innings); No-Hitter

WP: Sarah McCloud (4-0)
LP: Devon Schmidt (1-5)

Against Belmont, Georgia put four runs on the board in the first. Schlopy started the inning with a triple to right center, and she would later score on a single off the right field wall from Goler. Sandberg cleaned up the inning with a three-run home run, her fifth of the season.

Georgia’s next two runs came on Schlopy’s homer in the second. Trout was aboard for Schlopy third round tripper of the season after drawing a walk.

In the third, Sandberg picked up her fourth RBI on a single to left, and two batters later Trout provided her third home run of the year to center.

The Bulldogs final run against the Bruins came in the fourth. Freshman Sara Sikes singled to right and stole second to leadoff the frame. Junior Jennie Auger followed with an RBI double down the left field line.

Saturday, March 6:
10 a.m. Elon vs. Minnesota
12:15 p.m. Middle Tennessee vs. Belmont
2:30 p.m. Georgia vs. Minnesota
4:45 p.m. Georgia vs. Elon

Sunday, March 7:
9 a.m. Belmont vs. Minnesota
11:15 p.m. Belmont vs. Elon
1:30 p.m. Georgia vs. Middle Tennessee