University of Georgia Athletics
Gullickson Beats Top-Ranked Player Again, Advances To NCAA Semifinals
May 23, 2009 | Women's Tennis
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS --- For the second time this season, University of Georgia freshman Chelsey Gullickson defeated the nation’s top-ranked player in Maria Mosolova of Northwestern. The latest win on Saturday puts her in the semifinals of the NCAA Singles Championships.
Gullickson, the eighth seed, posted a 6-1,6-4 win over the top seed in the tournament and two-time Big Ten Player of the Year. The ninth-ranked Gullickson has posted four straight-set wins during the tournament. She becomes the first Bulldog to reach the NCAA semifinals since Agata Cioroch in 2003 when she was the fourth seed. The All-American Moslolva finishes her sophomore season with a 36-8 record.
“Chelsey played great from start to finish,” said Georgia coach Jeff Wallace. “Anytime you beat the number one seed at the NCAA Tournament, you’re doing a lot of things right on the court and certainly she did today. She took care of business again in straight sets and that’s important as you get deeper in to the tournament.”
Up next, she faces Miami (Fla.) junior Laura Vallverdu at 1 p.m. ET Sunday. The 24th-ranked Vallverdu has been forced to three sets the last two rounds. In the round of 16 Friday, the Hurricane was down a set and 5-1 before rallying against 13th-ranked Megan Falcon (LSU) for a 3-6,7-5,6-0 win. On Saturday, she outlasted Florida’s eighth-ranked Marrit Boonstra 6-1,6-7(8),6-3.
Gulickson fell in three sets to Vallverdu in the round of 16 at the ITA All-American Championships this past October in Los Angeles. At the National Team Indoor finals this past February in Madison, Wis., Gullickson beat top-ranked Mosolova 6-4,6-3 for Georgia’s lone team point against the Wildcats.
“It’s going to be another tough match, I remember when I faced her (Vallverdu) in Los Angeles, she got everything back, hit a lot of slices and was in a lot of points,” said Gullickson. “I’m going to stick with my game plan and see what it happens.”
Against Mosolova Saturday, Gullickson said she used a similar approach that was successful in their first meeting.
“I remembered her second serve was weak so I wanted to step up and take advantage of that, and at times pick on her forehand,” Gullickson said. “I started serving better late in the second set and that helped out a lot.”
After cruising to a 6-1 decision in the first set, Gullickson got down an early break and trailed 4-1 in the second. However, a strong service game in the sixth game provided a hold and then she notched a break in the seventh game to get the match back on track. Gullickson broke Mosolova again for a 5-4 advantage and then closed out the match.
With her latest victory, Gullickson improved to 43-9 this year including 31 wins over ranked opponents. Gullickson’s 43 wins this season matches the most by a Bulldog since Cioroch went 43-6 in 2002. It is the second most victories by a Georgia freshman, trailing only Shannan McCarthy who had a school record 46 in 1989.
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/.
