ATHENS, Ga – The Georgia women’s tennis program welcomed five newcomers for the 2025-2026 season, head coach Drake Bernstein announced on Friday. The newest Bulldogs are freshmen Emily Deming, Deniz Dilek, Emma Dong, Anastasiia Gureva, and Patricija Paukstyte.

Emily Deming

Deming, from Fallbrook, Calif., joins the Bulldogs as a blue-chip recruit and is ranked No. 17 nationally and No. 4 in California by the Tennis Recruiting Network. She is the daughter of Tim and Julie Deming. Her sister is Julia Deming, a former collegiate tennis player at the University of Kansas and is now a women’s tennis assistant coach at Fresno State. Deming reached the round of 16 of the 2025 Level 1 UTSA National Spring Championship: Fila Easter Bowl girls singles 18 & under and is a 2025 doubles finalist. Additionally, in 2023, Deming was a L1 USTA winter nationals doubles champion.

Deniz Dilek

Dilek, a native of Ankara, Turkey, achieved a career-high International Tennis Federation junior ranking of No. 30 and has won 19 ITF junior singles and doubles titles. Before arriving at Georgia, she competed in the Billie Jean King Cup twice, reaching the finals in 2022. She is a national champion at both the under-16 and under-18 levels in Turkey and has competed in all four junior Grand Slam tournaments: the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

Emma Dong

Dong, originally from Vancouver, Canada, achieved a career-high ITF junior ranking of No. 58 and No. 2 in Canada’s under-18 division. She is a three-time Canadian national singles champion and a two-time doubles champion.

Anastasiia Gureva

Gureva, a native of Samara, Russia, joins the Bulldogs with an impressive list of accomplishments. She achieved a career-high ITF junior ranking of No. 11 and her best WTA singles ranking of No. 342. In 2023, she reached the semifinals of the Roland Garros Junior Championships in singles and won the doubles title at the U.S. Open Junior Championships. Most recently, she claimed the title at the 2024 ITF W50 tournament in Trnava.

Patricija Paukstyte

Paukstyte, a Kaunas, Lithuania native has tallied two ITF singles titles and 10 ITF doubles titles in her career. She achieved a career-high WTA ranking of No. 484 and competed in BJKC for Lithuania five times.

 

Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Bulldogs by following UGA Women’s Tennis on X @UGAWomensTennis, on Instagram @UGAWomensTennis, and on Facebook @GeorgiaWomensTennis or check out information online at GeorgiaDogs.com.