No. 1 Georgia Defeats No. 8 Texas 4-2 in SEC Tournament Quarterfinals
April 18, 2026 – Norman, Okla. — The top-ranked and fourth-seeded Georgia women’s tennis team defeated No. 8 Texas 4-2 in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals on Friday at the Headington Family Tennis Center.
The victory snapped a three-match skid against the Longhorns and advanced Georgia to its seventh consecutive SEC Tournament semifinal, dating back to the 2019 season (the 2020 tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19).
Georgia now leads the all-time series against Texas 15-6.
Match Breakdown
Texas opened strong in doubles, winning the point by taking courts one and three. Georgia responded with a win at No. 2 doubles, where the No. 3 duo of Deniz Dilek and Aysegul Mert defeated Carmen Herea and Mathilde Ngijol-Carré 6-3 for their fifth straight doubles victory.
Texas clinched the doubles point with a tiebreak win at No. 3, 7-6(1), over Emma Dong and Hayden Mulberry.
In singles, Georgia surged ahead early. No. 86 Sofia Rojas opened the scoring with a dominant 6-3, 6-1 win over Mathilde Ngijol-Carré at No. 5. Patricija Paukstyte followed with a 6-3, 6-2 victory against Kate Mansfield at No. 6, giving Georgia a 2-1 lead.
At No. 1 singles, Anastasiia Lopata battled back after dropping the second set to defeat No. 3 Herea 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, securing a key three-set win and extending her singles streak to three matches.
No. 20 Aysegul Mert then clinched the match for Georgia with a straight-set win over No. 6 Abbagnato, 6-4, 7-6(6), winning a tightly contested second-set tiebreak to push her singles win streak to four matches.
The outcome was sealed before the remaining singles matches concluded.
Team Records and Context
Entering the match, Georgia held an 18-4 overall record and a 12-3 mark in SEC play. Texas stood at 17-7 overall and 11-4 in conference competition.
Georgia’s win extended its recent dominance in the series and reinforced its position as the top-ranked team in the nation heading into the SEC Tournament semifinals.
The Bulldogs are set to face the winner of the LSU vs. Florida quarterfinal in the next round.