Georgia Bulldogs Friday Final: Basketball, Equestrian, Tennis, and Volleyball Teams All Shine

Not that Bulldog Nation isn’t at enough of a fever pitch over tomorrow’s battle between the Georgia Bulldogs and the New Mexico St. Aggies in Sanford Stadium, but Friday has been a pretty busy day for University of Georgia athletics. Accordingly, I would like to take a moment to acquaint you with the results of today’s intercollegiate competitions. These are they:

Friday was a busy day for the Georgia tennis teams, as the male and female Bulldog netters were competing on various courts arrayed around the nation. The news was better from sunny climes than from wintry ones.

Although the USTA/ITA National Indoor Championships in New York saw Chelsey Gullickson eliminated from the singles bracket in the round of 16 and Sadio Doumbia and Wil Spencer relegated to the consolation draw, the duo of Kate Fuller and Lauren Herring carded an 8-3 doubles victory over a UCLA tandem in the Mission Hills Desert Classic in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

Meanwhile, in Athens, the Georgia men’s tennis team won eight matches at the Bulldog Scramble. Singles triumphs over Vanderbilt netters were claimed by Hernus Pieters, 6-1, 7-6(4), and Ignacio Taboada, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, who also teamed up to notch an 8-6 doubles victory over a pair of Commodores. Additional tandem wins were registered by Nathan Pasha and Taboada, 8-3; Eric Diaz and Pieters, 9-8(5); and Will Oliver and Will Reynolds, 9-8(8). The Bulldogs rounded out their successful Friday with singles victories by Pasha, 6-1, 6-3, and Reynolds, 6-4, 6-4.

In a battle of horse-riding titans, the third-ranked Georgia women’s equestrian team took down No. 4 South Carolina, 11-9, at One Wood Farm in the Palmetto State. The two powers tied, 5-5, in the English events, with the Gamecocks edging the Bulldogs, 3-2, in equitation over fences, and the Red and Black returning the favor by besting the Garnet and Black by the same score in equitation on the flat. The visiting Athenians claimed both Western events, winning both horsemanship and reining by 3-2 margins. Georgia won two of the MVP awards, with Carly Anthony setting the standard in equitation over fences and Megan Hawkins taking top honors in horsemanship, in the course of capturing the Red and Black’s third straight win over a top ten opponent.

The Bulldogs regarded the sets of Friday night’s match with Arkansas the way Democrats regard Constitutional amendments, preferring the odd-numbered ones to the even-numbered ones. The Georgia women’s volleyball team won the first, third, and fifth sets, 25-15, 25-23, and 15-12, respectively, while the Razorbacks claimed the second, 25-23, and the fourth, 25-21.

Though Georgia led in kills only in the first set, the Red and Black also had fewer errors in all but the fourth set. Brittany Northcutt led the way for the Bulldogs, notching 16 kills, 14 digs, three aces, and three assists. With the win, the Classic City Canines improved to 6-9 in SEC play, snapping a four-match losing streak.

Mark Fox’s Georgia Bulldogs opened the 2011-’12 men’s basketball season with a 74-50 home win in an exhibition game against Morehouse. Gerald Robinson turned in a 20-point, six-assist, three-steal performance, and the Athenians’ effort was aided by 12 points added by newcomer Nemanja Djurisic.

The Red and Black out-shot the Maroon Tigers from every point on the court, sinking more than 40 per cent of their field goals (19 of 47) and more than 70 per cent of their free throws (25 of 35) while hitting three-pointers at a clip (11 of 25) approaching the rate at which Blair Walsh is connecting on three-pointers on the football field (13 of 23). Georgia had more rebounds (45-30), more steals (10-3), and more assists (16-7), while Morehouse tallied the greater number of turnovers (19-16) and fouls (24-20).

Go ‘Dawgs!