The sophomore doubles duo of Nadja Gilchrist and Chelsey Gullickson set the tone Sunday in the Georgia women’s tennis team’s first dual match of the season against South Florida, as they swept the country’s 8th-ranked squad of Melissa Koning and Irene Rehberger 8-0 in the first doubles match of the day.

NADJA GILCHRIST

The No. 4 ranked Lady Bulldogs finished with a 5-2 victory over the Bulls, who had just defeated No. 15 Florida State on Saturday.

“We knew we needed a great start,” said head coach Jeff Wallace. “And we got one by playing fantastic doubles.”

After Gullickson and Gilchrist’s 8-0 sweep, Lara Fakhoury and Naoko Ueshima clinched the team doubles point for the Bulldogs by winning 8-2. Cameron Ellis and Yvette Hyndman completed the doubles sweep with an 8-5 victory.

“Our outstanding doubles play got us the momentum we needed against a dangerous South Florida team coming off a big win over Florida State,” said Wallace.

The Lady Bulldogs were able to carry that momentum into their singles matches as No. 14 Gullickson, No. 57 Gilchrist, and Ellis each won in two sets to gain a 4-0 lead, clinching the team win for Wallace’s squad.

“We played incredibly in doubles,” said sophomore Nadja Gilchrist. “That felt great. We were all a little nervous and we really wanted that big win in the first match.”

Gilchrist struggled in the first set of her singles match, however, being pushed to 12 games by No. 52 Ecatrina Vasenina before winning the set 7-5.

“She’s a great player and I wasn’t playing my best in the first set,” said Gilchrist. “But I just told myself to keep fighting and keep the ball in. In the second set I started to play smarter and I was able to dominate.”

Gilchrist took the second set 6-2, which clinched the team win for the Bulldogs’ in their first team match of the season.