Spring Break
Women's tennis defeats Crimson Tide, keeps lead in SEC East
MANIK K. GUPTA
Issue date: 4/6/09 Section: Sports
The Georgia women's tennis team is inching closer to its first outright SEC regular season title since 2002.
After defeating Auburn 5-2 on Friday, the Bulldogs (17-2, 7-1 SEC) rolled past Alabama 6-1 on Sunday in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Clinching the victory for Georgia was freshman Chelsey Gullickson who topped Alabama's only ranked singles player, No. 105 Tiffany Welcher 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-1 to improve her record against ranked opponents to 18-8 on the season.
The win gives Georgia a slight lead over two-loss SEC East rivals Vanderbilt and Tennessee.
"Auburn and Alabama played good tennis against us," coach Jeff Wallace said. "We picked up two really solid SEC road wins. We're really trying to win this regular season race. And we're in the lead right now."
Georgia started strong in doubles, taking the opening point.
The strong play continued into singles as Georgia would win the first set in five of its six singles matches. But it experienced a slight scare when No. 34-ranked junior Yvette Hyndman was forced to retire early in the second set after suffering a toe sprain. Wallace didn't believe the injury was serious and felt that retiring early was more of a precautionary measure.
Coming home doesn't mean things get any easier for the second-ranked Bulldogs. They host No. 19 Vanderbilt on Friday before taking on No. 20 Kentucky on Sunday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex, where they haven't lost all season.
Georgia has proven to be successful against ranked opponents with an impressive 7-1 showing against nationally-ranked foes.
But even Wallace acknowledges if his Bulldogs are to finish on top of the SEC, they will have to play their best tennis as the end of the regular season approaches.
"We've got two big matches this weekend," Wallace said. "I like our positioning, but [there's] a lot of work to be done."
After defeating Auburn 5-2 on Friday, the Bulldogs (17-2, 7-1 SEC) rolled past Alabama 6-1 on Sunday in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Clinching the victory for Georgia was freshman Chelsey Gullickson who topped Alabama's only ranked singles player, No. 105 Tiffany Welcher 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-1 to improve her record against ranked opponents to 18-8 on the season.
The win gives Georgia a slight lead over two-loss SEC East rivals Vanderbilt and Tennessee.
"Auburn and Alabama played good tennis against us," coach Jeff Wallace said. "We picked up two really solid SEC road wins. We're really trying to win this regular season race. And we're in the lead right now."
Georgia started strong in doubles, taking the opening point.
The strong play continued into singles as Georgia would win the first set in five of its six singles matches. But it experienced a slight scare when No. 34-ranked junior Yvette Hyndman was forced to retire early in the second set after suffering a toe sprain. Wallace didn't believe the injury was serious and felt that retiring early was more of a precautionary measure.
Coming home doesn't mean things get any easier for the second-ranked Bulldogs. They host No. 19 Vanderbilt on Friday before taking on No. 20 Kentucky on Sunday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex, where they haven't lost all season.
Georgia has proven to be successful against ranked opponents with an impressive 7-1 showing against nationally-ranked foes.
But even Wallace acknowledges if his Bulldogs are to finish on top of the SEC, they will have to play their best tennis as the end of the regular season approaches.
"We've got two big matches this weekend," Wallace said. "I like our positioning, but [there's] a lot of work to be done."
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