Alabama
Georgia
No. 25 Women's Tennis Drops 6-1 Decision to No. 2 Georgia
4/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 5, 2009
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The 25th-ranked women's tennis team (13-5, 3-5 SEC) fell to the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs (17-2, 7-1) by a score of 6-1 on Sunday at the Hank Crisp Indoor Tennis Facility. The loss is the fourth conference loss in a row for the Crimson Tide, and marks the first time all season that Alabama has lost consecutive matches at home.
"Georgia is a great team, no question," said head coach Jenny Mainz. "Good teams like that play the big points well. I thought we had chances throughout the match, but Georgia played those big points better than we did. Playing in, arguably, the toughest league in the country has given us opportunities to capitalize each week. It's been a steady climb for us. We've got to use each of these matches to get better. There is still a lot of tennis ahead of us."
Georgia took all three doubles matches, with Alabama winning more than two games in only one of the matches. The match at the No. 3 position was the first one completed, as junior Naoko Ueshima and sophomore Cameron Ellis took down senior Shelley Godwin and sophomore Meritt Emery 8-1. The Bulldogs clinched the doubles point moments later with an 8-2 win on court one. Freshmen Chelsey Gullickson and Nadja Gilchrist, ranked No. 37 nationally, raced out to a 3-0 lead. However, the 74th-ranked doubles duo of sophomore Tiffany Welcher and freshman Courtney McLane would take the next two games to make the score 3-2. The Georgia tandem seized back momentum quickly, not dropping a game the rest of the way. The match at the No. 2 position lasted over an hour, with junior Yvette Hyndman and senior Monika Dancevic eventually coming out victorious over junior Paulina Bigos and freshman Taylor Lindsey 8-6. Bigos and Lindsey earned the first break of the match, stretching their lead to 4-2. Hyndman and Dancevic broke Bigos at 4-5, and things stayed on serve until it was time for Bigos to serve again, this time at 6-7. The Bulldogs managed to break her serve again, completing the sweep for Georgia.
The Tide quickly evened the match at 1-1 thanks to a retirement from Hyndman on court two. McLane easily took the first set 6-1 as Hyndman, ranked 34th nationally, struggled to keep the ball in the court. Hyndman retired after trailing 1-0 in the second set. The Bulldogs went right back on top thanks to a win by Dancevic, currently No. 81 in the nation, at the No. 4 spot over Emery. Dancevic claimed an early break in the first set, and didn't look back on her way to winning the set 6-1. She also broke Emery early in the second for a 2-0 lead, but Emery managed to break right back. However, that would be the only game Emery won in the set, as Dancevic finished off many points at the net and took the match 6-1, 6-1. Georgia also claimed the next point, as No. 50 Gilchrist cruised past Bigos on court three 6-1, 6-3. Gilchrist broke Bigos early in the first, running away with the set 6-1. Bigos fell behind 0-3 in the second, but fought back to get the set back on serve at 2-3. Each player held their serve the next two games, moving the score to 4-3 in favor of Gilchrist. From there, the Bulldog freshman took over, winning the last two games to win the set 6-3.
Another freshman for Georgia, No. 9 Gullickson, clinched the win with a three set victory over No. 105 Welcher. The first set was on serve until Gullickson broke Welcher at 4-3, earning an opportunity to serve out the set. She did so successfully, claiming the opening set 6-3. The second set was tight as well, with both players squandering several chances to break. This time it was Welcher who drew first blood. Welcher broke for a 5-3 lead, but unlike Gullickson, she did not capitalize on her opportunity to serve out the set. The set eventually went into a tiebreak, which went in favor of Welcher 7-4. The two traded breaks to open the third set, but Gullickson ran away with the set from there, winning it 6-1. The match on court six was the next one completed, as Ellis defeated Lindsey in straight sets. Ellis took the first set easily 6-1, but found herself down a break early in the second. She got the break back, and the set would eventually have to be decided in a tiebreak, which Ellis won 7-4. The final match of the day took place at the No. 5 spot, and it featured numerous long rallies. Ueshima was the aggressor in the opening set, taking it 6-1. However, it was Godwin who had a break lead at 3-2 in the second, but she struggled to protect her serve all day. Ueshima broke Godwin the next two times, earning a 5-3 lead and a chance to serve for the match. Godwin broke that game, but once again could not hold serve, dropping the match 6-1, 6-4.
"We came back after losing four first sets by a score of 6-1 making it more competitive in the second set," added Mainz. "We need to learn how to come out and be front runners like Georgia is. We needed to test them earlier than we did."
Next up, Alabama will travel to take on Florida on Friday, April 10 for a 2:00 p.m. (CST) start.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. No. 37 Gullickson/Gilchrist (UGA) def. No. 74 Welcher/McLane (UA) 8-2
2. Hyndman/Dancevic (UGA) def. Bigos/Lindsey (UA) 8-6
3. Ueshima/Ellis (UGA) def. Emery/Godwin (UA) 8-1
Order of Finish: 3,1,2
Singles
1. No. 9 Chelsey Gullickson (UGA) def. No. 105 Tiffany Welcher (UA) 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-1
2. Courtney McLane (UA) def. No. 34 Yvette Hyndman (UGA) 6-1, 1-0, ret.
3. No. 50 Nadja Gilchrist (UGA) def. Paulina Bigos (UA) 6-1, 6-3
4. No. 81 Monika Dancevic (UGA) def. Meritt Emery (UA) 6-1, 6-1
5. Naoko Ueshima (UGA) def. Shelley Godwin (UA) 6-1, 6-4
6. Cameron Ellis (UGA) def. Taylor Lindsey (UA) 6-1, 7-6 (4)
Order of Finish: 2,4,3,1*,6,5
Players Mentioned
