|
1998 NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
May 21-29
Courtney Tennis Center
University of Notre Dame
Sophomore Julia Sidorova (left) and freshman Christine Seus nearly completed a Kansas upset of #4 seed Georgia, losing 8-6 in the #2 doubles.
|
Georgia 5, Kansas 3
Singles
Kylie Hunt (K) def. Vanessa Castellano, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
Aarthi Venkatesan (G) def. Christie Sim, 6-3, 6-2
Jane Reid (G) def. Kris Sell, 6-3, 6-3
Christine Sues (K) def. Christa Grey, 6-2, 1-6, 6-3
Nadine van de Walle (G) def. Julia Sidorova, 6-2, 6-1
Zoe Mellis (G) def. Monica Sekulov, 6-3, 6-3
Doubles
Hunt and Sim vs. Castellano and Grey, Abandoned (7-4 K)
Reid and Venkatesan (G) def. Sidorova and Sues, 8-6
Brooke Chiller and Sell (K) def. Mellis and van de Walle, 8-6
Postmatch Quotes
Georgia Head Coach Jeff Wallace
On his team's performance: "We never felt like we we're
going to roll through the whole thing; we knew that it was going
to be tough. It's the NCAA's and everybody's good. I was really
pleased with the start that we got off to since Kansas played
really well at No. 4 singles and played well the whole day. I
thought we had a chance to win at No. 3 doubles, but we didn't
win that one, and the momentum started going their way. We had a
veteran team at No. 2 doubles, and I had to feel that the chances
of us winning were greatly in our favor with that team out
there."
On his team overcoming adversity: "We're missing our
number-one player who also happens to be the number-one player in
the country in both singles and doubles. It's like taking
Michael Jordan off the Bulls, but this team practices hard and
played hard out there today. We're on a mission; we're ready to
play. I'm very proud of them."
On the clinching game: "During that last game I really
tried to concentrate on basic fundamentals. Let's get the first
serve in; let's get our eyes at the right person at the net;
let's be moving well; let's execute the finishing shot. I
thought they did a great job of it."
Kansas Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
On the match: "We're disappointed, but one thing that
you can't prepare yourself for is coming here for the first time;
we have a lot of youngsters that have never been in this
situation. With the exception of Kylie Hunt, they were on the
other five positions much more comfortable from the beginning,
and that sort of set the tone for the match.
On his team's comeback: "I'm really proud of my group
because I thought that over the last half of this tennis match we
looked like a better team than Georgia did. We fought really
hard and kept our heads up and clawed our way into a position to
win the match. The longer the match went the more comfortable we
became. The pressure went off us when we went down 4-2. We've
shown that character all year long, and I'm tremendously proud of
them."
Georgia Player Jan Reid
On the clinching match: "My partner was really nervous
and had never been in this sort of situation before. I knew that
if we kept doing what we practiced that we would be alright. My
partner and I have been together all year and this was our
seventh clinching match of the season, but it's different when
you're here because this is it. I knew that we could do it if we
controlled what we could control."
On staying focused: "You can only do what you can do.
I knew that I could only control so much, my emotions, my shot
selection. I couldn't control whether we won or lost, so I just
had to keep calm and focus on the match. You can only give the
best of what you have, and I knew that I was doing that and that
my partner was doing that. I just had to keep the faith in
that."
Freshman Aarthi Venkatesan (left) and junior Jane Reid came back from a 6-5 deficit to post an 8-6 win over Kansas in the #2 doubles competition, giving the #4-seeded Bulldogs a 5-3 team win over the Jayhawks (KU was winning the #1 doubles, 7-4, in a match that was abandoned).
Kansas head coach Roland Thornqvist plots strategy with #2 doubles players Christine Seus (left) and Julia Sidorova while other members of the Jayhawks squad cheer on their teammates.
|
|
