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#3 Georgia Defeats #15 Florida to Reach SEC Tournament Title

Apr 25, 2009 by Georgia Sports Communications

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.--Third-ranked Georgia posted a 4-2 win over 15th-ranked Florida here Saturday to advance to the SEC Tournament final for the third year in a row.

Georgia (22-2) will be going for its third straight SEC Tournament crown on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET against either 10th-ranked Tennessee or 26th-ranked Ole Miss.

The Bulldogs rallied back to win four singles matches after dropping the doubles point to the Gators (14-9) who handed Georgia one of its regular season losses. The Gators were the last team to take the doubles point over Georgia as well back on March 13. For the third day in a row, the tournament moved indoors due to sustaining winds of 20-plus miles per hour.

On Saturday, Georgia got singles wins from sophomore Cameron Ellis, junior Naoko Ueshima and freshmen Nadja Gilchrist and Chelsey Gullickson. Ellis tied the match at 1-1 with a 6-1,6-0 rout of Brooke Allen at No. 6. She has won 10 of her last 12 matches and improved to 28-4 this season. Florida went on top 2-1 when 47th-ranked Anastasia Revzina beat 49th-ranked Yvette Hyndman 6-1,6-1 in the No. 2 contest.

Gilchrist tied the match at 2-2 when she finished off Joanna Mather 6-0,6-4 in the No. 3 match. Gilchrist has won 10 straight matches and moved her record to 32-8. The Bulldogs took their first lead of the day when Ueshima dispatched Barbara Pinterova 6-0,6-1 at No. 5. Ueshima is 28-6 this year including posting wins in 22 of her last 23 matches.

At that point, the final two matches were in the third set. Gullickson, ranked 12th nationally, gained a measure of revenge with a 6-2,5-7,6-0 win over seventh-ranked Marritt Boonstra. Gullickson is 33-9 this year. In fact in the regular season meeting, Boonstra and Mather notched wins over the Bulldog freshmen in straight sets. The No. 4 contest featuring senior Monika Dancevic and Florida’s Jessica Alexander was halted in the third set. Dancevic won the first set 6-4, then trailed 5-0 in the second and forced a tiebreaker that Alexander took 8-6.

“Florida played great in doubles, but I was impressed with my team the way they responded in the singles,” said Georgia coach Jeff Wallace. “I told them we are not always going to win the doubles point, and we have to be able to bounce back, and we did. I thought our depth showed today. We got wins at No. 5 and No. 6 from Naoko (Ueshima) and Cameron (Ellis) and then our two freshmen, Chelsey (Gullickson) and Nadja (Gilchrist) came through at the top with the match on the line.”

In doubles, the Gators registered wins at No. 1 and 2 while Ueshima and Ellis blanked the Allen/Pinterova 8-0 at No. 3. Alexander and Revzina evened the match with an 8-3 win over Dancevic/Hyndman at No. 2. The point came down to the No. 1 match where 43rd-ranked Boonstra and Mather upset 12th-ranked Gilchrist and Gullickson 8-3 for an early 1-0 advantage.

Overall, Georgia has won 10 straight matches. They will be going for their sixth SEC Tournament title in school history. Also, Georgia will be looking to win the SEC regular season and tournament title in the same season for the first time since 2007.

SEC Tournament Semifinals: Fayetteville, Ark. #3 Georgia 4, #15 Florida 2 Doubles 1. #43 Marritt Boonstra/Joanna Mather (UF) def. #12 Nadja Gilchrist/Chelsey Gullickson (UGA) 8-3 2. Jessica Alexander/Anastasia Revzina (UF) def. Monika Dancevic/Yvette Hyndman (UGA) 8-3 3. Cameron Ellis/Naoko Ueshima (UGA) def. Brooke Allen/Barbara Pinterova (UF) 8-0 Singles 1. #12 Chelsey Gullickson (UGA) def. #7 Marritt Boonstra (UF) 6-2, 5-7, 6-0 2. #47 Anastasia Revzina (UF) def. #49 Yvette Hyndman (UGA) 6-1, 6-1 3. #55 Nadja Gilchrist (UGA) def. Joanna Mather (UF) 6-0, 6-4 4. #85 Monika Dancevic (UGA) vs. Jessica Alexander (UF) 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 0-2, unfinished 5. Naoko Ueshima (UGA) def. Barbara Pinterova (UF) 6-0, 6-1 6. Cameron Ellis (UGA) def. Brooke Allen (UF) 6-1, 6-0 Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,2,3,5,1)

3 Georgia 22-2; #15 Florida 14-9;

Georgia advances to SEC Tournament finals for third straight year.

Tagged: ga bulldogs, georgia bulldogs, uga, womens tennis, uga womens tennis, sec championships