Beyond the Hedges: 10/10/2013

VOLLEYBALL

With two weekends and four conference matches in the books, your UGA volleyball team is now 3-1 in SEC play (13-3 over all).  Way back in September, the Dawgs travelled to Baton Rouge and College Station, defeating LSU 3-2 but falling to Texas A&M 3-0.  Last weekend, Georgia notched a pair of wins at home over Tennessee, 3-0, and Ole Miss, 3-2.  In the conference standings, Georgia is in fifth place and one of the only five teams with winning conference records.  But the season is young.  The Dawgs head to Columbia East tomorrow to face the Gamecocks (10-6, 2-2 SEC) and to Gainesville Sunday to take on the No. 2 Gators (15-1, 4-0).

SOCCER

The soccer team hit a rough patch over the last couple of weeks.  The Dawgs defeated Mizzou in Columbia, 1-0, but lost to Kentucky in Lexington, 1-0, two weeks ago then dropped a pair of matches at home to Bama, 3-2 (OT), and to Ole Miss, 3-1, last weekend.  Georgia (9-4-0, 2-3 SEC) has only one match this weekend: at Auburn tomorrow night.

EQUESTRIAN

Georgia's riders opened the season by hosting Fresno State on September 29 and dominated the Cali Bulldogs 16-3.  Top-ranked Georgia travels to No. 3 South Carolina Friday.

WOMEN'S TENNIS

Six singles players and three doubles pairs headed to California for the All-American Tournament held September 28 through October 6.  Junior Lauren Herring was 4-1 in the tournament, losing a hard fought match to North Carolina's Jamie Loeb in the semifinals 6-2, 7-6(2).  Complete results for all UGA participants is available here.

SWIMMING

The Wisconsin Badgers were in Athens for a two-day meet against Georgia and the UGA men and women recorded their second sweep of the season after defeating Kentucky in September.  The women bested their opponents 182-136, and the men won 179-139.  Sophomore sensation Chase Kalisz, who holds school records in the 200 and 400 individual medleys, won both of those events along with the 200 butterfly and the 200 backstroke.

MEN'S GOLF

Heading into last weekend's Brickyard Collegiate Championship in Macon, Georgia had risen to No. 1 in the Golfstat rankings and No. 3 in the Golfweek/Sagarin poll.  The Dawgs finished the Brickyard in fourth place with senior Keith Mitchell tied for sixth among individuals.  The team heads to Carmel, Indiana, next Monday and Tuesday for the Crooked Stick Intercollegiate.

WOMEN'S GOLF

The women continue to have a rough year by Georgia standards, placing eighth out of fifteen in the Windy City Collegiate Championship September 30 to October 1 and fourteenth out of fifteen at the Schooner Classic in Norman, Oklahoma, October 5-7.  The Dawgs get a little time off competition before heading out to California for the Stanford Intercollegiate October 25-27.

CROSS COUNTRY

Both men's and women's cross country teams made good showings at the Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis, battling some of the best teams in the country along with the cold and wet environment.  The men finished in 13th place in a field of 24, and the women came in 12th out of 28.

MEN'S TENNIS

The men's All-American Championships were held in Tulsa September 28 through October 6, where four Bulldogs vied for tournament honors.  Sophomore Austin Smith, who played his way into the main draw with three wins in the qualifying round, was the only Georgia player to advance past the first round and made it through the 64-player bracket to the quarterfinals where he fell to Vandy's Gonzales Austin in a heartbreakingly close match: 7-6(2), 6-7(5), 7-6(5).  The Dawgs will be in Atlanta this weekend where Tech is hosting the ITA Southeast Regional Championships.  Winners from twelve regional sites will advance to the National Championships in New York.  After qualifying rounds Friday, the main draw starts Saturday at 8:00 a.m., so if you're in Atlanta and not headed to Athens for the Mizzou game, you can catch some matches before kickoff.

Until next time,

GO DAWGS!