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Georgia’s Chelsey Gullickson won the NCAA singles title in front of her home crowd in Athens, ending Jana Juricova’s 19 match winning streak 6-3, 7-6 (7).

Gullickson controlled the first set with her serve and took it with little trouble, 6-3. The second set became much tighter as both ladies struggled to hold serve. After four consecutive breaks, Juricova finally managed to hold serve at 4-5 but not without some controversy. Two overrules from the chair umpire, both of which went against Gullickson, had the crowd in a frenzy. Gullickson said after the match that she was frustrated by the calls but just tried to put them behind her.

After the changeover, Gullickson appeared to have calmed down and attributed the crowd in helping her stay positive throughout the second set, despite the breaks of her usually strong serve and the controversial calls from the linesmen (who are unique to the singles finals). Where the crowd has typically been beneficial to Georgia throughout the tournament, Juricova also said that the hostile crowd motivated her to try harder. The two held serve and a tiebreak would decide the second set.

Gullickson jumped to an early lead with a mini-break but quickly lost it, following the ebb and flow of the second set. The two battled to 7-7 and that was as close as Juricova would come as Gullickson’s big serve put her ahead 8-7 and a swinging volley in the net from Juricova won the title for Gullickson.

Gullickson, who was extremely excited after winning the title as a sophomore, told us that the ups and downs of the season left her less confident than she would have liked heading into the tournament but attributed the difficulties to her ability to fight through tough situations. In the last three matches, she ended an undefeated run, a 21 match-winning streak and finally, Juricova’s 19 match streak. Combined with the questionable calls in this match, Gullickson’s mental toughness was perhaps her greatest asset in this tournament.

Finishing 30-8 on the season, Gullickson was asked about joining her sister, Carly, on the WTA tour. Gullickson replied that there were no plans for turning professional though she is hopeful for a wild card into the US Open. In her post-match interview on court, Gullickson also dropped the hint that she would be here completing her scholarship at Georgia, thanking the crowd and adding, “see you in 2012!”

After the recent UGA summit with Athletic Director Damon Evans saying he was disappointed with UGA’s athletic performance this past year, another two seasons with Gullickson would certainly brighten the forecast.

Here’s the video of Chelsey Gullickson taking the title.

Here are Georgia’s match points from the NCAA tournament in 2010. As you can see, Georgia really fed off the incredible fans at the the Dan Magill tennis complex and stepped up their game come tournament time.

Javier Garrapiz is currently competing in the singles tournament for the individual portion of the NCAA tournament. Javy is facing the same opponent he played in the Sweet 16 against Oklahoma, Andrei Daescu, a match which he won 6-4, 6-2. So far, he’s on track to do the same thing after breaking serve to win the first set, 6-4.

Javy just closed out with relative ease, winning the match 6-4, 6-3. He’ll be playing tomorrow against the winner of Robert Farah of USC or Jonathan Rux of Baylor. I have a feeling it may be Farah, who plays one singles for the national champs. The time for that match is TBA. If I’m able to make it tomorrow, I’ll just continue from this post with updates.

Here’s the video of him closing out the first set and also winning the match.

Welcome back to the Dan Magill Tennis complex where the Georgia Bulldogs look to continue their improbable run in the NCAA Tournament against the #2 Tennessee Volunteers. The womens match between Stanford and Notre Dame ran a bit late, and Georgia is just now warming up. The match should get underway at about 5:20pm.

Georgia and Tennessee faced each other a few weeks back for the last match of the regular season, with the Volunteers taking the tie 6-1. However, much has changed since then, and as Georgia Head Coach Manny Diaz said, “We’re playing our best tennis right now.” That, combined with the home-court advantage, something they didn’t have in the previous match against Tennessee, means Georgia has an excellent chance to pull yet-another upset in this tournament.

It’s also Javy Garrapiz’s birthday, so lets hope Georgia can give him the ultimate birthday present: a spot in the national championship match.

I’ll be back with much more later, including some videos.

Georgia just lost the doubles in an unbelievably close battle. Court 3, Bernstein/Oliver, was a bit more of the same, they put up a pretty good fight but ultimately Tennessee was too strong and took that one 8-5. Court 2, Hunt/Vitulli, looked to be in deep trouble after going down two breaks early for a 6-2 deficit. Court 1, Garrapiz/Schnugg, was engaged in a tight struggle. After getting down a break late, it looked to be all but over for Georgia. However, Georgia broke back on court 1 and forced a tiebreak. Meanwhile, Hunt/Vitulli seemed determined not to go out and fought back to even the tie at 6.

Garrapiz/Schnugg got down early in the tiebreak, 2-4, but as the theme for this tournament seems to be going, they fought back and won in dramatic fashion to even the doubles score at one all. Hunt/Vitulli continued their run and were serving for the match at 8-7 but Tennessee dug deep and managed a break despite all the momentum and focus of the crowd on their match. Hunt/Vitulli seemed unable to get into a rhythm in the tiebreak and Tennessee somehow snuck out of the doubles with a vital point.

Here’s Garrapiz/Schnugg closing out their match. Sorry for my yelling. And hopefully my excitement won’t give you epilepsy.

Throughout the tournament, Georgia has relied on the doubles and the crowd to carry them through the singles. Tennessee has already overcome both factors in this match. Will Georgia be able to fend off the talented Tennessee singles team? One thing going for Georgia is history: Tennessee has only ever won twice against Georgia in Athens.

It just wasn’t meant to be. The #2 Tennessee Volunteers overcame Georgia’s momentum, the crowd and history to take out the Dawgs in Athens, 4-1. It seemed once the doubles was lost, so was the chance for Georgia to steal another victory. The players dismissed that notion, with Nate Schnugg saying, “I didn’t see anyone wilt after  the doubles,” though they must have known overcoming the deep Tennessee lineup would be a bigger accomplishment than their season’s difficulties combined.

Javy Garrapiz did as promised and won both his singles and doubles matches but that was about all Georgia could muster. Coach Diaz told us yesterday that Georgia didn’t have the deepest, most talented team but made up for it in their ability to overcome this season’s hurdles. Eventually, talent and depth won out in the form of the Vols who will take on defending national champions Southern California in the final tomorrow at 6pm.

Looking back on this team it’s hard to say this was a disappointing loss. Tennessee has been fairly dominant all season long and Georgia has dealt with injuries and suspensions throughout the year. Coach Diaz had to split up one of the best duo’s in college tennis in Jamie Hunt and Nate Schnugg and little did he know that Garrapiz and Schnugg would turn out to be just as dominant. This team came together and played their best when it mattered most. To reach the Final Four under those circumstances is a phenomenal achievement. The magic created over these past few days has been fantastic.

Looking forward, which was difficult to do following the tough loss, Javy Garrapiz was very optimistic about next season. “We know that we can be there, and we’re going to be one of the best teams next year as well, so now we just have to work and keep working.”

If Garrapiz can continue the progress he’s made over the last few days, next year could produce just as much magic as this tournament.

Here’s Javy beating the #1 singles player in the country, John-Patrick Smith.

This is the highlight tape I made when Georgia took down Florida in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Florida had beaten Georgia twice during the season but couldn’t beat the Dawgs in Athens, when it counted most.

The video has been having some issues on the site so if you encounter any problems, please check it out on youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf68E4aBIMI

Georgia faces Oklahoma for a birth in the Final Four at the Dan Magill Tennis complex today, in a match where former Georgia All-American John Roddick coaches the Sooners. Georgia has run out the same doubles lineup that got them past the #8 seed Florida Gators on Friday night, Garrapiz/Schnugg, Hunt/Vitulli and Bernstein/Oliver. The home crowd is much bigger than the previous round, and if last round is any indication, that will be a big a big advantage for the Dawgs. I’ll be back with more updates later, and hopefully some video as well.

Georgia looked to be in trouble in the doubles, with court 3 going down without much of a fight and court 1 down a break at 2-4. Jamie Hunt and Christian Vitulli continued their hot streak and clinched Georgia’s first win, 8-4. However, Garrapiz and Schnugg turned up the heat and managed to break back to even the score at 5-5. Soon after, Hunt and Vitulli finished so the attention of the crowd was focused on court 1: just what the boys like. The momentum was with Georgia, and the duo broke again to leave Schnugg to serve it out, which he did in style to give Georgia the doubles point.

Here are the clinching points for the Dawgs.

Up next is the singles matches. The lineup is again the same as Friday, Garrapiz, Schnugg, Hunt, Bernstein, Vitulli and Reynolds. Back with more later.

Georgia swept the singles, winning the tie 4-0. Georgia was leading in every match expect court 6, a highly contested match that was at 5-5 in the second set. It seemed once Georgia mounted their comeback in the doubles, the momentum was theirs and Oklahoma looked a bit deflated. Sooner Head Coach and Georgia Alum John Roddick commented, “They’re playing as well as they can and if they keep it up, they can do great things. They deserved to win. Most of our guys have never been in the field of 64, let alone the elite 8, and with with this crowd it’s hard to tell them what to expect.”

Drake Bernstein was the first finished as he cruised to a 6-2, 6-3 victory. Jamie Hunt wasn’t far behind, and he closed the show by breaking serve and giving Georgia an almost insurmountable 3-0 lead. Javy Garrapiz and Nate Schnugg were in a close race to see who could earn Georgia the almighty fourth point, and it was Garrapiz who finished on his serve to win 6-4, 6-2 leaving Schnugg with an 6-4, 6-5 almost victory. Christian Vitulli was also playing well, winning the first set 6-4 and on serve in the second at 4-5.

Overall it was a dominant performance from Georgia who appear to be hitting their stride at the right time. After their second-round match against FSU came down to the final tiebreaker, each match has been progressively better. Coach Diaz commented, “That generates a lot of momentum, when you’re that close to defeat it summons your best, and when you can cross that little fine line you gain a lot of confidence and we’re playing with a fair bit of confidence right now.” Added Jamie Hunt, “A lot of confidence.”

However, things won’t get any easier when Georgia takes on SEC rival #2 Tennessee, who also blanked their opponent, Baylor, 4-0, tomorrow in the Final Four matchup at 5pm. Tennessee beat Georgia 6-1 in the final match of the regular season. That didn’t seem to deter the Georgia confidence at all. Coach Diaz said, “They’ve got a great team, they’re so talented. But Florida had beaten us twice. We’re coming in and playing well, we’re playing our best tennis and we’re going to try and keep the level of tennis that we’ve played so far in this tournament. Jamie Hunt pointed to the crowd support saying, “With this crowd, I feel unbeatable and with that kind of crowd support, we’re playing very inspired tennis.” Javy Garrapiz had additional motivation saying, “It’s my birthday tomorrow, so I just have to win.”

Lets hope Javy celebrates his birthday in style.

Here are the match points from the singles.

Welcome to The Dan Magill Tennis complex here in Athens for the NCAA Tennis championships. Day 1 has come and gone as the womens teams kicked off the action.

Click “more” for all the highlights from Friday’s action. (more…)

Fletcher Page answers the call to discuss the burning question since Coach Mark Fox nabbed Mr Georgia Basketball: Can Georgia win the SEC this season?

I did forget to mention and give proper congratulations to Fletcher for officially landing a gig with scout.com. Be sure to check his work and look out for his rival podcast coming soon to their site. (Which he neglected to tell me until after the pod, undoubtedly so he could steal some valuable tips.)

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University of Kentucky tennis player Brad Cox joins me to discuss Athens, expectations for the NCAA tournament and how he’s grown as a player at UK.

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AJC writer Jeff Schultz joins Heatin’ Up to discuss the woeful performance by the Hawks in the playoffs but more importantly, what the Hawks need to do to improve this off-season.

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