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#15 Clemson Upsets #4 Georgia 4-3

Feb 7, 2010 by Georgia Sports Communications

ATHENS——The 15th-ranked Clemson Tiger women’s tennis team rallied past fourth-ranked Georgia 4-3 Saturday at the Hopkins Indoor Courts.

The Tigers remained perfect on the year at 7-0 while Georgia fell to 3-1. It was the third straight year the match between the programs ended 4-3, and the first win in that stretch for Clemson.

Georgia took a 1-0 lead in the match after winning the doubles point. Clemson’s No. 3 team of Estefania Balda and Laurianne Henry were the first team off the court after posting an 8-6 win over Georgia’s Lara Fakhoury and Naoko Ueshima. However, the Bulldogs claimed victories at No. 1 and 2. Georgia’s top duo of Nadja Gilchrist and Chelsey Gullickson won their seventh straight match, edging Keri Wong and Ina Hadzieselimovic 8-6. The Gilchrist/Gullickson team improved to 8-3 this season while it was the first loss for the Tiger duo as they fell to 6-1. Then, Georgia claimed the point when the No. 2 tandem of Cameron Ellis and Yvette Hyndman closed out Josipa Bek and Nelly Ciolkowski 8-3. It marked the third straight match that Ellis and Hyndman clinched the doubles point as they ran their record to 7-2 this year.

The Bulldogs went up 2-0 as 14th-ranked Gullickson dispatched Wong 6-3,6-2 in the No. 1 match. The Tigers claimed their first team point with a victory at No. 4 when 61st-ranked Ciolkowsi beat Ellis 6-3,6-3. Georgia surged ahead 3-1 with an impressive win by Gilchrist at No. 2 as she upset the ninth-ranked Bek. It was the highest ranked opponent that Gilchrist has defeated in her career, outlasting the Tiger sophomore 6-4,2-6,6-2. Last year, Gilchrist’s best ranked win came over 16th-ranked Amanda Fink of Southern California. Gilchrist and Gullickson are both 13-3 in singles this year and have won their last seven matches. Wong saw her six-match winning streak end.

“I’m glad nobody told me I was playing the ninth-ranked player in the country,” said Gilchrist. “In the first set, I played well and was hitting my shots but in the second, I started missing and my coaches told me to stay positive. I did a much better job in the third set. She was a really good player and never got down during the match. Overall, it was a tough loss for our team but we’ve got a lot more matches to play this season.”

The Tigers closed the gap to 3-2 when 113th-ranked Hadzieselimovic rallied past Hyndman 6-7(6),6-2,6-4 in the No. 3 contest. At that point, the Tigers had won the first set in the No. 5 and 6 matches in tiebreakers. Henry led Ueshima in the No. 5 match while Balda was up on Fakhoury at No. 6. Balda tied the match at 3-all with a 7-6(7),6-4 win over Fakhoury. Ultimately, the match would come down to No. 5 singles where Ueshima had just forced a third set with Henry.

In the final set, Ueshima and Henry got two service breaks apiece for a 2-2 score before they each held serve to keep it locked at 3-3. Next, Henry held serve and broke Ueshima for a 5-3 edge. She closed out the match with a service hold to win 7-6(5),1-6,6-3 and give the Tigers a 4-3 victory.

“Clemson played really well at the 3,4,5, and 6 spots in singles, and the bottom line for us is we have to find a way to win another match out there,” said Georgia coach Jeff Wallace. “We did a good job in doubles to win that first point and got big wins from Chelsey and Nadja in singles. However, we lost a couple of three-set matches and a couple others in straight sets. Clemson played well and that’s competition.”

Up next, the Bulldogs will prepare for the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championships set for Feb. 12-15 in Madison, Wis.

—get scores—

1. Clemson 4, #4 Georgia 3
   Singles
   1. #14 Chelsey Gullickson (UGA) def. Keri Wong (CU) 6-3, 6-2
   2. #57 Nadja Gilchrist (UGA) def. #9 Josipa Bek (CU) 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
   3. #113 Ina Hadziselimovic (CU) def. Yvette Hyndman (UGA) 6-7 (6-8), 6-2, 6-4
   4. #61 Nelly Ciolkowski (CU) def. Cameron Ellis (UGA) 6-3, 6-3
   5. Laurianne Henry (CU) def. Naoko Ueshima (UGA) 7-6 (7-5), 1-6, 6-3
   6. Estefania Balda (CU) def. Lara Fakhoury (UGA) 7-6 (9-7), 6-4
   Doubles
   1. Nadja Gilchrist/Chelsey Gullickson (UGA) def. Keri Wong/Ina Hadziselimovic (CU) 8-6
   2. Cameron Ellis/Yvette Hyndman (UGA) def. Josipa Bek/Nelly Ciolkowski (CU) 8-3
   3. Estefania Balda/Laurianne Henry (CU) def. Lara Fakhoury/Naoko Ueshima (UGA) 8-6
   Match Notes:
   Clemson 7-0; National ranking #15; Georgia 3-1; National ranking #4
   Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (1,4,2,3,6,5)
   Official: Walt Williams T-5:30 A-112