1998 NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
May 21-29
Courtney Tennis Center
University of Notre Dame
Florida 5, Georgia 1
Singles
Dawn Buth (F) def. Vanessa Castellano, 6-1, 6-3
Aarthi Venkatesan (G) def. M.C. White, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
Stephanie Nickitas (F) def. Jane Reid, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
Whitney Laiho (F) def. Christa Grey, 6-3, 6-7, (4), 6-4
Stephanie Hazlett (F) def. Nadine van de Walle, 6-1, 6-4
Traci Green (F) def. Zoe Mellis, 7-5, 6-1
Doubles
did not play
Postmatch Quotes
Florida Head Coach Andy Brandi
On the match:
"I was a little bit worried about the focus of the team after the other match (Duke vs. Stanford) went past our 2:00 p.m. starting time. You get caught up in the emotion of the match and you lose your focus, and that's a problem."
On Georgia:
"It's always tough when you play a team that you've already played twice. Secondly, it's very tough when you're playing someone who you think is depleted after losing their number-one player. I have to say that Jeff Wallace and the University of Georgia did a tremendous job throughout the entire tournament. They were very tough today and gave us all that we could handle."
On Duke:
"Duke is a great team. We had a tremendous match against them earlier this year, and we were very lucky to come out of there alive after singles. I'm sure that they will be very eager and hungry tomorrow and will give us all that we can handle. Every match is going to be hard-fought."
Georgia Head Coach Jeff Wallace
On his team
: "I thought that all weekend long our team showed a lot of courage. We talked about everybody stepping it up and they did that. We've played our hearts out and worked incredibly hard. You want to get here to the NCAA Tournament and give it everything you've got, and I couldn't ask for more from my team. They did everything a coach could ask his team to do. I'm really proud of them."
On Florida
: "I think this is one of Florida's better teams; they've obviously had a good year. They're at the NCAA's and undefeated, so you have to say that it's one of their better teams.
On the match:
"There are so many momentum shifts in each match. Certainly our No. 3 singles dropping the second set was probably a turning point. I think that anyone who was watching would say that it was. Unfortunately, Florida played great in the third set and won that match."
Florida Player Stephanie Nickitas
On Duke vs. Stanford:
"It was hard not to watch, especially at the very end. I was trying not to watch, but I peeked through the fence at the very end. I'm not surprised because anything can happen here. Both teams put up a good fight. Nothing is very surprising at the NCAA tournament."
On the final:
"Once you get into the finals; it's all up for grabs. Both teams think they can win just as much. Duke thinks that they are going to win the national championship, and we think that we are going to win the national championship. It doesn't matter who you play; it's the last match."
