Gullickson Puts Georgia in Quarterfinals with Comeback Win; Stanford Needs Over Four Hours, but Defeats Northwestern 4-2

©Colette Lewis 2011--
Stanford, CA--

Georgia's Chelsey Gullickson knew it was up to her. It was past midnight when she and Jana Juricova of Cal reached the final set with the team score at 3-3. A repeat of the 2010 NCAA individual championship result last year, in which Gullickson beat Juricova, seemed unlikely when Gullickson fell behind 4-1 in the final set, having served for the match at 5-3 in the second set.

With the Cal men's team cheering loudly and players from both teams lining the South Taube courts, suddenly something clicked for the junior from Florida.

"I think I started out the third set being kind of upset being up 5-3 and losing," said Gullickson. "I kind of let it carry over into the third set, but once I saw Kate (Fuller) won, I knew it had come down to me and a light switch flipped on."

It almost seemed that easy, with Gullickson winning the final five games. She won them by hitting winners, eliminating errors and giving Juricova no breathing room in the chilly night air. In the final game, Juricova couldn't get Gullickson's serve in play on three of the last four points, and Gullickson had the 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 victory.

"Last year we didn't make it(to the Sweet 16, and we could have gotten bumped out today, but to be able to get the win for my team, it's a lot of fun," Gullickson said, adding, "It's Cameron's (Ellis) last year, so we're doing this for her."

Georgia head coach Jeff Wallace had a word for the match: epic.

"Our doubles has just played so well in the NCAA tournament and to win those matches like we did 8-2 and 8-1, I was so impressed with how we played. But you've got to give a lot of credit to Cal. They're a great team, well coached, and they came out and got the momentum in singles. They got to the point where they were up 4-1 in the third set in the last match. It takes a player like Chelsey Gullickson to get through that."

Top seed Stanford defeats No. 16 Northwestern 4-2 with Carolyn McVeigh clinching for the Cardinal at No. 6. McVeigh defeated Stacey Lee 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 to end the four hour and 30 minute match, which ended after 1:30 a.m. Pacific time.

For more on the Stanford victory, see gostanford.com



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#8 GEORGIA (19-4) 4
vs. #9 CALIFORNIA (18-7) 3

Doubles (Order of Finish: 3, 2)
1) Gilchrist/Gullickson (UGA) vs. No. 1 Andersson/Juricova (CAL) aban.
2) Fuller/Kimbell (UGA) d. No. 30 Goransson/Schutting (CAL) 8-1
3) Ellis/Kowase (UGA) d. Davis/Duranteau (CAL) 8-2

Singles (Order of Finish: 3, 5, 2, 4, 6, 1)
1) No. 25 Chelsey Gullickson (UGA) d. No. 1 Jana Juricova (CAL) 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
2) (23) Mari Andersson (CAL) d. No. 59 Nadja Gilchrist (UGA) 7-5, 6-2
3) No. 79 Maho Kowase (UGA) d. No. 104 Anett Schutting (CAL) 6-1, 6-2
4) Marina Cossou (CAL) d. Lilly Kimbell (UGA) 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-2
5) No. 84 Annie Goransson (CAL) d. No. 86 Cameron Ellis (UGA) 6-1, 6-1
6) Kate Fuller (UGA) d. No. 55 Tayler Davis (CAL) 6-3, 2-6, 6-4


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#1 STANFORD 4, #16 NORTHWESTERN 2

Doubles (Order of Finish: 1,3,2)
1) No. 3 Barte/Burdette (STAN) d. No. 11 Abu Mushrefova/Hamilton (NU) 8-5
2) Chernyakova/Wowchuk (NU) d. Gibbs/Li (STAN) 8-5
3) Mosolova/Niu (NU) d. No. 74 McVeigh/Tan (STAN) 8-6

Singles (Order of Finish: 3, 4, 2, 1, 6)
1) No. 3 Hilary Barte (STAN) d. No. 10 Maria Mosolova (NU) 6-4, 6-1
2) No. 22 Mallory Burdette (STAN) d. No. 68 Belinda Niu (NU) 6-1, 6-4
3) No. 18 Nicole Gibbs (STAN) d. No. 78 Brittany Wowchuk (NU) 6-1, 6-2
4) Kate Turvy (NU) d. No. 43 Stacey Tan (STAN) 6-3, 6-3
5) Veronica Li (STAN) vs. Linda Abu Mushrefova (NU) aban.
6) Carolyn McVeigh (STAN) d. Stacey Lee (NU) 7-5, 3-6, 6-1