Spring Break
Gullickson moves easily to NCAA round of 16
Issue date: 5/22/09 Section: Sports
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS - Georgia freshmen Chelsey Gullickson cruised in to the round of 16 here Thursday at the NCAA Singles Championships.
Gullickson, the eighth seed in the event, improved to 41-9 this season with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Arizona State junior Nadia Abdala who is ranked No. 49.
"I came in today a little bit more tired than I was yesterday and probably the biggest difference was keeping, like (coach) Jeff (Wallace) says, an 'A' mind," said Gullickson. "This is like the eighth day of the tournament, or something, so I'm getting a little tired. I'm going out there and trying to make the matches as short as I can. I almost lost. She was coming back in the first set, and I tried to make it as short as I possibly could just to save my energy. There's no pressure, no nerves, I'm just having fun. It's the last tournament, so there is nothing that I can really lose."
Gullickson will put her 14-match winning streak on the line against one of the other top freshman in the nation Friday in the round of 16. She will face California's Jana Juricova. Ranked No. 11 nationally, Juricova is 39-6 this year. The pair faced each other during the semifinals of the National Team Indoors in Madison, Wis., back in February, however the match was suspended after the Bulldogs clinched a 4-2 win. Gullickson was leading 6-3,4-6,3-1 when play was stopped.
In the first round of doubles, the sixth-ranked All-America duo of Gilchrist and Gullickson fell 7-6(5),6-3 to Clemson's Josipa Bek and Ina Hadziselimovic. The Bulldog tandem managed to save two set points at 5-4 and eventually pick up a break as the first set eventually went to a tiebreaker. Georgia's only lead in the tiebreaker was 2-1, and the Bulldogs saved one more set point at 6-4 before the Tigers converted on their next opportunity to take it 7-5. In the second set, both teams held serve until the Tigers picked up break in the sixth game for a 4-2 lead.
The Bulldogs fought off two match points in the eighth game with Gilchrist serving to close the deficit to 5-3. However in the next game, Hadziselimovic served it out to send the Tigers in to the round of 16.
The Tiger duo, ranked 34th nationally, has won 11 of their last 14 matches. They improved to 16-7 while the Bulldog freshmen team ends up 13-5.
Complete draws, results and live scoring from the 2009 NCAA Tennis Championships can be found at the following link: http://www.aggieathletics.com/ncaa2009/tennis/
- Georgia Sports Communications
Gullickson, the eighth seed in the event, improved to 41-9 this season with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Arizona State junior Nadia Abdala who is ranked No. 49.
"I came in today a little bit more tired than I was yesterday and probably the biggest difference was keeping, like (coach) Jeff (Wallace) says, an 'A' mind," said Gullickson. "This is like the eighth day of the tournament, or something, so I'm getting a little tired. I'm going out there and trying to make the matches as short as I can. I almost lost. She was coming back in the first set, and I tried to make it as short as I possibly could just to save my energy. There's no pressure, no nerves, I'm just having fun. It's the last tournament, so there is nothing that I can really lose."
Gullickson will put her 14-match winning streak on the line against one of the other top freshman in the nation Friday in the round of 16. She will face California's Jana Juricova. Ranked No. 11 nationally, Juricova is 39-6 this year. The pair faced each other during the semifinals of the National Team Indoors in Madison, Wis., back in February, however the match was suspended after the Bulldogs clinched a 4-2 win. Gullickson was leading 6-3,4-6,3-1 when play was stopped.
In the first round of doubles, the sixth-ranked All-America duo of Gilchrist and Gullickson fell 7-6(5),6-3 to Clemson's Josipa Bek and Ina Hadziselimovic. The Bulldog tandem managed to save two set points at 5-4 and eventually pick up a break as the first set eventually went to a tiebreaker. Georgia's only lead in the tiebreaker was 2-1, and the Bulldogs saved one more set point at 6-4 before the Tigers converted on their next opportunity to take it 7-5. In the second set, both teams held serve until the Tigers picked up break in the sixth game for a 4-2 lead.
The Bulldogs fought off two match points in the eighth game with Gilchrist serving to close the deficit to 5-3. However in the next game, Hadziselimovic served it out to send the Tigers in to the round of 16.
The Tiger duo, ranked 34th nationally, has won 11 of their last 14 matches. They improved to 16-7 while the Bulldog freshmen team ends up 13-5.
Complete draws, results and live scoring from the 2009 NCAA Tennis Championships can be found at the following link: http://www.aggieathletics.com/ncaa2009/tennis/
- Georgia Sports Communications
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