University of Georgia Athletics
2000 National Champions
March 21, 2007 | Women's Tennis
| Road to the National Championship 1st /2nd Rd. in Athens, Ga. Finals Site: Malibu, Calif. (Host: Pepperdine) 1st Round: Georgia def. Furman, 5-0 2nd Round: Georgia def. Ohio State, 5-0 Round of 16: Georgia def. South Alabama, 5-1 Quarterfinals: Georgia def. Southern Cal, 5-1 Semifinals: Georgia def. Florida, 5-2 Finals: Georgia def. Stanford, 5-4 NCAA Champions Final National Ranking: No. 1 |
| Team Members Kelly Baskin, Marissa Catlin, Christa Grey, Lori Grey, Esther Knox, Zoe Mellis, Anne Nguyen, Aarthi Venkatesan; Head Coach Jeff Wallace, Asst. Coach Debbie Beck, Trainer Ron Shinault, Student Asst. Vanessa Castellano |
The 2000 tennis team captured the program’s second NCAA title, including the first one on the West Coast.
Prior to this title, Georgia’s men’s and women’s teams had combined to win four NCAA crowns, but all came in Athens. Georgia displayed the potential to win it all early in the season, rolling through league play with an undefeated 11-0 mark and an SEC title. In fact, by April, the lone blemish on a 19-1 overall record was a 4-3 loss to top-ranked Stanford in the semifinals of the USTA/ITA National Team Indoors that took place in February.
In the SEC Tournament, No. 5 Florida upset No. 2 Georgia, but the Bulldogs avenged that loss and one to Stanford at the NCAA Championships in Malibu, Calif.
Georgia cruised through the early rounds, winning its first two matches in Athens and then two more in Malibu before posting another win over Florida in the semifinals. Georgia had set up its rematch with Stanford. The Cardinal, riding a 48-match winning streak, was an overwhelming favorite to repeat as champions by everyone not wearing red and black.
The Bulldogs forced Stanford to doubles, splitting the singles as Aarthi Venkatesan, Marissa Catlin and Anne Nguyen won at Nos. 1, 3 and 6 in the lineup. Venkatesan outlasted Marissa Irvin, who was ranked 78th in the world, in the feature match. In doubles, the No. 2 team of Venkatesan/Knox picked up a win and then at No. 1, the second-ranked duo of Catlin/Lori Grey clinched the national title 9-8 (3), winning a tiebreaker over the fourth-ranked team of Irvin/Teryn Ashley.
| Titles and Honors | |
| Team Titles •NCAA Champions •Southeastern Conference Champions All-Americans •Aarthi Venkatesan (S&D) •Esther Knox (S&D) •Lori Grey (S&D) ¶Marissa Catlin (D) | Final ITA Rankings Team: No. 1 Singles: Aarthi Venkatesan (3) Esther Knox (11) Lori Grey (31) Marissa Catlin (33) Doubles: Catlin/Grey (1) Knox/Venkatesan (10) |
