The Red and Black

Issue date: 4/27/09 Section: Sports

DANCEVIC

The Georgia women's tennis team captured its third consecutive SEC title and sixth conference championship in program history Sunday.

The top-seeded Bulldogs (23-2) blasted No. 10 Tennessee 4-0 in the finals of the 2009 SEC Tournament in Fayetteville, Ark., to earn an automatic bid into next month's NCAA Tournament. Just eight days ago Georgia knocked off Tennessee 5-2 in Knoxville, Tenn., to clinch the SEC regular season title outright.

"It never gets old," head coach Jeff Wallace said. "It's very exciting. I'm really very proud of this group. They've worked hard, and they've just had a fantastic weekend. Nothing came easy."

Georgia freshman Chelsey Gullickson clinched the SEC title for the Bulldogs with a 6-2, 6-3 win over No. 48 Caitlin Whoriskey. The 12th-ranked player in the nation, Gullickson, was a perfect 3-0 in singles play and helped clinch the semifinal match against Florida.

The Bulldogs led early after the veteran 2-doubles team of senior Monika Dancevic and junior Yvette Hyndman secured the doubles point with an 8-5 win over Rosalia Alda and Sofia Zubor to give Georgia a 1-0 advantage. Moments earlier, Gullickson and classmate Nadja Gilchrist topped the Lady Vols No. 20 ranked duo of Whoriskey and Natalie Pluskota 8-4 at 1-doubles to move to 10-4 on the season.

Georgia moved to 19-0 in matches where it won the doubles point.

"Tennessee played us tough. It was a great doubles point. We came through on the 1 and 2 courts and got [the point]," Wallace said.

Cameron Ellis earned the praise of her coach after she continued her dominating play into Sunday's SEC finale. Ellis, a sophomore, gave Georgia a 2-0 lead after she dispatched Maria Sorbello at 6-singles 6-0, 6-1. Ellis had lost to Sorbello in the last meeting between the two teams. Dancevic, the lone senior on the team, was named tournament MVP after she completed the weekend with a 2-0 record. No. 85 Dancevic beat Jennifer Meredith 6-4, 6-4 to set up Gullickson for the title-clinching victory.

"In singles, Cameron [Ellis] played great tennis today," Wallace said. "She beat a girl she lost to last week. That was exciting and then Monika wins again and is named Tournament MVP. It was a really solid effort in the finals."

Georgia topped Alabama on Friday in the quarterfinals and slid past Florida on Saturday in the semifinals to earn the right to square off against Tennessee on Sunday in the championship match.

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