‘Everybody Was There On A Mission’
May 08, 2025 | Women's Tennis, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
The top-ranked Georgia women's tennis program has been among the nation's best for decades, winning seven team national championships and nearly always contending for more. This year is no different: the Bulldogs have already won the ITA National Indoor Championships, and on Friday they host No. 19 California in the round of 16 of the NCAA tournament.
Championships are hard to win, as they should be, and 25 years ago, in Malibu, Calif., Georgia captured the program's second NCAA team title. In the final, the Bulldogs upset defending champion Stanford, 5-4, in dramatic fashion, ending the Cardinal's 48-match win streak.
"Everybody was there on a mission," said former Georgia coach Jeff Wallace, who led the Bulldogs to NCAA titles in 1994 and 2000, as well as ITA National Indoor championships in 1994, 1995, 2002 and 2019. "It was a great team from top to bottom."
In 1999, Georgia had gone 24-4 overall and 10-1 in the SEC. The lone conference loss, which denied the Bulldogs an SEC title, was at top-ranked Florida. In the NCAAs, Georgia lost a nail-biter to No. 6 California, 5-4, in the quarterfinals. A lot of the key pieces from that 1999 team were back in 2000.
Led by veterans and All-Americans like Marissa Catlin and Aarthi Venkatesan, the Bulldogs lost just once in the regular season, to No. 1 Stanford in the ITA National Indoors. Georgia went undefeated in SEC play to capture the conference regular-season title, but fell to No. 5 Florida, 5-1, in the SEC tournament. The Bulldogs avenged both losses in the NCAA tournament.
"Marissa was a great leader and one of the best players we ever had at Georgia, reaching the finals of the (NCAA) doubles three times, with three different partners," Wallace said. "Aarthi mostly led by example, but she would call people out if they weren't doing what was right."
Georgia entered the NCAAs as a top-four seed, along with Florida, Stanford and Wake Forest. Florida and Stanford had split the previous four titles, with the Cardinal winning in 1999. The Bulldogs rolled past Furman and Ohio State, 5-0, in the first two rounds at home before heading west to Malibu.
In the round of 16, Georgia beat No. 17 South Alabama, 5-1, and followed that with a 5-1 win over No. 12 USC in the quarterfinals. Awaiting Georgia in the semis was Florida, winners of the 1996 and '98 NCAA titles, and the Bulldogs took out the Gators, 5-2, setting up the final against mighty Stanford, which was 25-0 that season and had won 48 matches in a row.
College tennis was still using the old format of playing the six singles matches first, followed by the doubles, which featured an eight-game pro set, if necessary. In the old system, all matches counted for one point, and the first team to five points won the match. The change to playing the doubles first (with the team to win two of the three doubles matches earning a point), followed by the singles, with the first team to four points winning, started in 2001.
The 2000 NCAA final was the last match played in the old format, and it was a fitting finale, going down to a tiebreaker in the deciding doubles match. Venkatesan, playing with badly pulled stomach muscles that later needed surgery, pulled off one of the key singles victories, knocking off Marissa Irvin, who was ranked No. 78 in the world at that time, at No. 1 singles. Catlin and Anne Nguyen also won singles matches, and the team score was 3-3 heading into doubles. So the school to win two of the three in doubles matches would capture the championship.
Venkatesan and Knox, ranked No. 22, earned an 8-3 win at No. 2 doubles over the 13th-ranked team of Laura Granville and Keiko Tokuda, while the Cardinal prevailed at No. 3, making the match at No. 1 between Georgia's No. 2-ranked team of Catlin and Lori Grey versus Stanford's fourth-ranked team of Irvin and Teryn Ashley winner-take-all. This was a heavyweight battle in every way.
Georgia's Catlin and Grey, a freshman who didn't play like it on such a big stage, raced out to a big lead, winning six of the first seven games. But then the Cardinal won the next six games to take a 7-6 lead. At 8-8, the teams headed for a deciding tiebreaker, and it was all Bulldogs, with Catlin and Grey winning 7-3.
"Lori was one that maybe didn't love to practice so much," Wallace said, "but, boy, on match days, she brought it."
She and Catlin brought it with an NCAA team title on the line, and they later advanced all the way to the finals of the doubles tournament. Stanford coach Frank Brennan said after the team final that Georgia was "very spirited" and "the Bulldogs wouldn't be denied."
Prior to the Georgia women's win in 2000, the Bulldog men had won two NCAA titles (1985 and '87) and the women had won their first in 1994. All three of those came on Georgia's courts, in front of the Bulldogs' great home crowds. The 2000 team became the first to win the championship on the road.
"We always loved playing in Athens, but it did mean something to go out to California and win a championship there," said Wallace, who led his team to the NCAA semifinals 15 times in his 38 seasons. "No matter where you're playing, these things are tough to win."
Despite all of Georgia's success since winning the 2000 team title, including three ITA National Indoor championships, 16 SEC regular-season or tournament titles and numerous individual NCAA titles, the Bulldogs haven't won an NCAA team championship since then. Will that drought end in the days ahead?
The 2025 Bulldogs, who lost in the NCAA finals to Texas A&M in 2024, are certainly one of the favorites to be there at the end when the tournament heads to Baylor for the final three rounds. But to get there, they have to knock off the Golden Bears on Friday. The match begins at 4 p.m. at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Staff Writer
The top-ranked Georgia women's tennis program has been among the nation's best for decades, winning seven team national championships and nearly always contending for more. This year is no different: the Bulldogs have already won the ITA National Indoor Championships, and on Friday they host No. 19 California in the round of 16 of the NCAA tournament.
Championships are hard to win, as they should be, and 25 years ago, in Malibu, Calif., Georgia captured the program's second NCAA team title. In the final, the Bulldogs upset defending champion Stanford, 5-4, in dramatic fashion, ending the Cardinal's 48-match win streak.
"Everybody was there on a mission," said former Georgia coach Jeff Wallace, who led the Bulldogs to NCAA titles in 1994 and 2000, as well as ITA National Indoor championships in 1994, 1995, 2002 and 2019. "It was a great team from top to bottom."
In 1999, Georgia had gone 24-4 overall and 10-1 in the SEC. The lone conference loss, which denied the Bulldogs an SEC title, was at top-ranked Florida. In the NCAAs, Georgia lost a nail-biter to No. 6 California, 5-4, in the quarterfinals. A lot of the key pieces from that 1999 team were back in 2000.
Led by veterans and All-Americans like Marissa Catlin and Aarthi Venkatesan, the Bulldogs lost just once in the regular season, to No. 1 Stanford in the ITA National Indoors. Georgia went undefeated in SEC play to capture the conference regular-season title, but fell to No. 5 Florida, 5-1, in the SEC tournament. The Bulldogs avenged both losses in the NCAA tournament.
"Marissa was a great leader and one of the best players we ever had at Georgia, reaching the finals of the (NCAA) doubles three times, with three different partners," Wallace said. "Aarthi mostly led by example, but she would call people out if they weren't doing what was right."
Georgia entered the NCAAs as a top-four seed, along with Florida, Stanford and Wake Forest. Florida and Stanford had split the previous four titles, with the Cardinal winning in 1999. The Bulldogs rolled past Furman and Ohio State, 5-0, in the first two rounds at home before heading west to Malibu.
In the round of 16, Georgia beat No. 17 South Alabama, 5-1, and followed that with a 5-1 win over No. 12 USC in the quarterfinals. Awaiting Georgia in the semis was Florida, winners of the 1996 and '98 NCAA titles, and the Bulldogs took out the Gators, 5-2, setting up the final against mighty Stanford, which was 25-0 that season and had won 48 matches in a row.
College tennis was still using the old format of playing the six singles matches first, followed by the doubles, which featured an eight-game pro set, if necessary. In the old system, all matches counted for one point, and the first team to five points won the match. The change to playing the doubles first (with the team to win two of the three doubles matches earning a point), followed by the singles, with the first team to four points winning, started in 2001.
The 2000 NCAA final was the last match played in the old format, and it was a fitting finale, going down to a tiebreaker in the deciding doubles match. Venkatesan, playing with badly pulled stomach muscles that later needed surgery, pulled off one of the key singles victories, knocking off Marissa Irvin, who was ranked No. 78 in the world at that time, at No. 1 singles. Catlin and Anne Nguyen also won singles matches, and the team score was 3-3 heading into doubles. So the school to win two of the three in doubles matches would capture the championship.
Venkatesan and Knox, ranked No. 22, earned an 8-3 win at No. 2 doubles over the 13th-ranked team of Laura Granville and Keiko Tokuda, while the Cardinal prevailed at No. 3, making the match at No. 1 between Georgia's No. 2-ranked team of Catlin and Lori Grey versus Stanford's fourth-ranked team of Irvin and Teryn Ashley winner-take-all. This was a heavyweight battle in every way.
Georgia's Catlin and Grey, a freshman who didn't play like it on such a big stage, raced out to a big lead, winning six of the first seven games. But then the Cardinal won the next six games to take a 7-6 lead. At 8-8, the teams headed for a deciding tiebreaker, and it was all Bulldogs, with Catlin and Grey winning 7-3.
"Lori was one that maybe didn't love to practice so much," Wallace said, "but, boy, on match days, she brought it."
She and Catlin brought it with an NCAA team title on the line, and they later advanced all the way to the finals of the doubles tournament. Stanford coach Frank Brennan said after the team final that Georgia was "very spirited" and "the Bulldogs wouldn't be denied."
Prior to the Georgia women's win in 2000, the Bulldog men had won two NCAA titles (1985 and '87) and the women had won their first in 1994. All three of those came on Georgia's courts, in front of the Bulldogs' great home crowds. The 2000 team became the first to win the championship on the road.
"We always loved playing in Athens, but it did mean something to go out to California and win a championship there," said Wallace, who led his team to the NCAA semifinals 15 times in his 38 seasons. "No matter where you're playing, these things are tough to win."
Despite all of Georgia's success since winning the 2000 team title, including three ITA National Indoor championships, 16 SEC regular-season or tournament titles and numerous individual NCAA titles, the Bulldogs haven't won an NCAA team championship since then. Will that drought end in the days ahead?
The 2025 Bulldogs, who lost in the NCAA finals to Texas A&M in 2024, are certainly one of the favorites to be there at the end when the tournament heads to Baylor for the final three rounds. But to get there, they have to knock off the Golden Bears on Friday. The match begins at 4 p.m. at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
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