University of Georgia Athletics
Bulldogs Blank Tigers With 'Love'
March 22, 2026 | Women's Tennis, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Emma Dong sprinted toward court 1 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on Saturday afternoon. There was a celebration happening along one of the baselines after Anastasiia Lopata's clinching victory, and Dong, who had cruised to victory in her own singles match, wanted in on the fun.
Saturday's match had the potential to be a marathon affair, with the top-ranked Georgia women's team hosting No. 4 Auburn. Back on Feb. 9, in the semifinals of the ITA National Indoor Championships in Evanston, Ill., the Bulldogs edged the Tigers 4-3, handing Auburn its first loss of the season. Georgia won its second straight Indoor crown, and third straight national championship, the next day.
Heading into Saturday, Auburn hadn't lost since; it also hadn't lost the doubles point in a match all season, going 25-for-25. Now, the Tigers have two losses this season, and their doubles win streak is no more.
The Bulldogs got off to a strong start by capturing the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 2, and then they kept rolling with three straight-set singles victories for a 4-0 win.Â
"Any time you can get the doubles against a great team, obviously, it's a big help — particularly against a team that takes a lot of pride in their doubles, like those guys do," Georgia head coach Drake Bernstein said. "And they've gotten better since the last time we saw them."
Georgia's first doubles win Saturday came at the No. 2 spot, where Aysegul Mert and Deniz Dilek got behind 3-1 against Auburn's Angella Okutoyi and Merna Refaat, and then won the next five games to prevail 6-3. It was a different route to victory at No. 1; Georgia's Patricija Paukstyte and Lopata broke Auburn's serve to start the match and led wire-to-wire, beating the Tigers' DJ Bennett and Ava Esposito, 6-4.
"I didn't know that they hadn't lost the doubles point all year," Lopata said. "I only heard that after we finished, so it's very cool that we were able to do that. We had a lot of fun during the doubles across all three courts, and the crowd was insane — that helped a lot."
The hundreds of fans that packed into Henry Feild Stadium on a warm, sunny day had a lot to cheer about. The sixth-ranked Mert, playing No. 2 singles, dominated from start to finish, beating No. 55 Ekaterina Khaurutdin, 6-1, 6-1.
The match couldn't have been more different from their last meeting, when Mert clinched the Georgia win in the ITA Indoor semis with a 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 victory. Mert said it was her fourth time playing Khaurutdin in her career, and she prepared well for the familiar opponent.
"I watched a little bit of film, and I had a very clear game plan," she said. "I mean, I wasn't sure if I would be able to execute it like this, but I think having a very good game plan made a difference."
Dong, playing at No. 5 in singles, rolled past Refaat, 6-2, 6-2, to put Georgia ahead 3-0. A freshman, Dong has won seven straight matches and is now 12-1 in dual matches and 17-4 overall.
"Sometimes, as a freshman, when you come in and you have this great year, or this great run of matches, it's really easy to just start assuming that that's how it's going to be — and as soon as you start assuming that, that's when you take it on the chin," Bernstein said. "She's done a really good job of staying diligent and keeping her competitiveness at the forefront of her mind from the start of every match."
On court 1, in a matchup of former NCAA singles finalists, the No. 28-ranked Lopata faced off against the No. 43-ranked DJ Bennett, who was ranked No. 1 in the country back in August. They also had a three-set battle during the ITA Indoors, with Lopata prevailing, but this time, the senior rolled to a 6-3, 6-2 win.
On match point, after a Bennett backhand went into the net, Lopata, never the most demonstrative Bulldog, simply pumped her fist a couple of times before being mobbed by five of her teammates.
"I had fun today, during the match. I think today I was playing with love," Lopata said. "I found just the way to enjoy the environment; I stopped worrying, stopped stressing, and just try to enjoy everything."
As one of two seniors in the lineup, along with Sofia Rojas, Lopata said she's trying to savor every moment she has with her team.
"I'm just trying to appreciate everyone now, and just find a way to enjoy every moment, and don't put too much pressure on myself."
This is Lopata's first season playing mostly at the No. 1 spot — she went 13-1 playing No. 2 last spring — and it has been an adjustment. She was 3-3 in completed matches at No. 1 heading into Saturday, and Bernstein said in her win over Bennett, Lopata got "back to Lopata doing what Lopata does." And that is moving extremely well, playing great defense, and attacking when the opportunity presents itself.
"If somebody's got answers for that for three hours, good for them," he said.
Bernstein also echoed what Lopata said about playing with love.
"In everything we do, we talk about doing it with love, and that's what came to mind as she was breaking away in the second set there," he said. "You just see her out there doing her thing, and you just see the love is present. It's not something you could describe; you just feel it and you see it.
"I'm really proud of her; she's put so much into this program for the last three and a half years, and for her to be able to enjoy the stage like that, it was great to see."
The Bulldogs hit the road next weekend for matches at Arkansas on Friday and at No. 9 Oklahoma on Sunday.
Staff Writer
Emma Dong sprinted toward court 1 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on Saturday afternoon. There was a celebration happening along one of the baselines after Anastasiia Lopata's clinching victory, and Dong, who had cruised to victory in her own singles match, wanted in on the fun.
Saturday's match had the potential to be a marathon affair, with the top-ranked Georgia women's team hosting No. 4 Auburn. Back on Feb. 9, in the semifinals of the ITA National Indoor Championships in Evanston, Ill., the Bulldogs edged the Tigers 4-3, handing Auburn its first loss of the season. Georgia won its second straight Indoor crown, and third straight national championship, the next day.
Heading into Saturday, Auburn hadn't lost since; it also hadn't lost the doubles point in a match all season, going 25-for-25. Now, the Tigers have two losses this season, and their doubles win streak is no more.
The Bulldogs got off to a strong start by capturing the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 2, and then they kept rolling with three straight-set singles victories for a 4-0 win.Â
"Any time you can get the doubles against a great team, obviously, it's a big help — particularly against a team that takes a lot of pride in their doubles, like those guys do," Georgia head coach Drake Bernstein said. "And they've gotten better since the last time we saw them."
Georgia's first doubles win Saturday came at the No. 2 spot, where Aysegul Mert and Deniz Dilek got behind 3-1 against Auburn's Angella Okutoyi and Merna Refaat, and then won the next five games to prevail 6-3. It was a different route to victory at No. 1; Georgia's Patricija Paukstyte and Lopata broke Auburn's serve to start the match and led wire-to-wire, beating the Tigers' DJ Bennett and Ava Esposito, 6-4.
"I didn't know that they hadn't lost the doubles point all year," Lopata said. "I only heard that after we finished, so it's very cool that we were able to do that. We had a lot of fun during the doubles across all three courts, and the crowd was insane — that helped a lot."
The hundreds of fans that packed into Henry Feild Stadium on a warm, sunny day had a lot to cheer about. The sixth-ranked Mert, playing No. 2 singles, dominated from start to finish, beating No. 55 Ekaterina Khaurutdin, 6-1, 6-1.
The match couldn't have been more different from their last meeting, when Mert clinched the Georgia win in the ITA Indoor semis with a 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 victory. Mert said it was her fourth time playing Khaurutdin in her career, and she prepared well for the familiar opponent.
"I watched a little bit of film, and I had a very clear game plan," she said. "I mean, I wasn't sure if I would be able to execute it like this, but I think having a very good game plan made a difference."
Dong, playing at No. 5 in singles, rolled past Refaat, 6-2, 6-2, to put Georgia ahead 3-0. A freshman, Dong has won seven straight matches and is now 12-1 in dual matches and 17-4 overall.
"Sometimes, as a freshman, when you come in and you have this great year, or this great run of matches, it's really easy to just start assuming that that's how it's going to be — and as soon as you start assuming that, that's when you take it on the chin," Bernstein said. "She's done a really good job of staying diligent and keeping her competitiveness at the forefront of her mind from the start of every match."
On court 1, in a matchup of former NCAA singles finalists, the No. 28-ranked Lopata faced off against the No. 43-ranked DJ Bennett, who was ranked No. 1 in the country back in August. They also had a three-set battle during the ITA Indoors, with Lopata prevailing, but this time, the senior rolled to a 6-3, 6-2 win.
On match point, after a Bennett backhand went into the net, Lopata, never the most demonstrative Bulldog, simply pumped her fist a couple of times before being mobbed by five of her teammates.
"I had fun today, during the match. I think today I was playing with love," Lopata said. "I found just the way to enjoy the environment; I stopped worrying, stopped stressing, and just try to enjoy everything."
As one of two seniors in the lineup, along with Sofia Rojas, Lopata said she's trying to savor every moment she has with her team.
"I'm just trying to appreciate everyone now, and just find a way to enjoy every moment, and don't put too much pressure on myself."
This is Lopata's first season playing mostly at the No. 1 spot — she went 13-1 playing No. 2 last spring — and it has been an adjustment. She was 3-3 in completed matches at No. 1 heading into Saturday, and Bernstein said in her win over Bennett, Lopata got "back to Lopata doing what Lopata does." And that is moving extremely well, playing great defense, and attacking when the opportunity presents itself.
"If somebody's got answers for that for three hours, good for them," he said.
Bernstein also echoed what Lopata said about playing with love.
"In everything we do, we talk about doing it with love, and that's what came to mind as she was breaking away in the second set there," he said. "You just see her out there doing her thing, and you just see the love is present. It's not something you could describe; you just feel it and you see it.
"I'm really proud of her; she's put so much into this program for the last three and a half years, and for her to be able to enjoy the stage like that, it was great to see."
The Bulldogs hit the road next weekend for matches at Arkansas on Friday and at No. 9 Oklahoma on Sunday.
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
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