CLEMSON, S.C. – The Georgia women’s tennis team won the doubles point but couldn’t carry the momentum through to singles, falling 4-2 to ninth-ranked Clemson Saturday afternoon in second-round action of the NCAA Championships at the Hoke Sloan Tennis Center.

The Bulldogs end the season with a record of 14-9, while Clemson improves to 24-5 and secures a berth in the round of 16 beginning May 20 in Athens, Ga. The Tigers had advanced with a 4-0 win over the College of Charleston yesterday.

“Obviously it was a really close match today and we battled,” said head coach Jeff Wallace. “It was good to get the doubles point and get that momentum, but Clemson took over in singles and won the first sets on courts one through four.”

“I think we were up in some sets that we didn’t close out, and when you’re in the NCAA Round of 32 you need to close out sets. We were out there fighting but in the end it’s disappointing. I think this year we saw a lot of matches that we could have won and didn’t. Now we just have to focus on our players who will compete as individuals and start building for the future.”

The Bulldogs won the tightly-contested doubles point with Yvette Hyndman and Naoko Ueshima starting off with a quick 8-2 victory over Nelly Ciolkowski and Caroline Magnusson on court three. Courts one and three each started out 4-4 and Georgia took 6-5 leads in both.

The other win would come at No. 1 doubles as eighth-ranked Chelsey Gullickson and Nadja Gilchrist edged No. 7 Josipa Bek and Ina Hadziselimovic, 9-7, to secure the point. That Clemson pair had not lost since March 5, ending a string of 12 straight victories. The battle on two ended with Laurianne Henry and Keri Wong holding a slight 8-7 lead over Cameron Ellis and Lara Fakhoury before it was suspended.

In singles, No. 110 Hadziselimovic won 6-1, 6-3 over Hyndman at three to pull the score to 1-1. Georgia then took back the lead at 2-1 as Fakhoury downed Magnusson, 6-3, 6-3 for her second win of the weekend at No. 6. But 114th-ranked Ciolkowski would tie it up again with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Ueshima on court four, and Clemson took a 3-2 lead as 79th-ranked Wong edged No.48 Gilchrist, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.

That left courts one and five still on, and Clemson would get the clincher at No. 5 as Henry defeated Ellis in three sets with scores of 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2 to pick up the the 4-2 win.

On court one, No. 12 Gullickson had battled back for a win in the tiebreaker in the second set to force a third against No. 17 Bek, but that match was suspended.

Georgia is now 20-22 all-time against the Tigers and 58-22 in the tournament.

“This was was an epic match and Georgia was the toughest opponent we’ve ever had here in the NCAA Championships,” said Clemson head coach Nancy Harris.

The season will continue for both Gullickson and Gilchrist, who earned at-large bids to the NCAA singles and doubles championships in Athens following the team portion.

Tennis Match Results
Georgia vs Clemson
May 15, 2010 at Clemson, S.C.
(Hoke Sloan Tennis Center)

#9 Clemson 4, #19 Georgia 2

Singles competition
1. #17 Josipa Bek (CU) vs. #12 Chelsey Gullickson (UGA) 7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (6-8), unfinished
2. #79 Keri Wong (CU) def. #48 Nadja Gilchrist (UGA) 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
3. #110 Ina Hadziselimovic (CU) def. Yvette Hyndman (UGA) 6-1, 6-3
4. #114 Nelly Ciolkowski (CU) def. Naoko Ueshima (UGA) 6-4, 6-3
5. Laurianne Henry (CU) def. Cameron Ellis (UGA) 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-2
6. Lara Fakhoury (UGA) def. Caroline Magnusson (CU) 6-3, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. #8 Chelsey Gullickson/Nadja Gilchrist (UGA) def. #7 Josipa Bek/Ina Hadziselimovic (CU) 9-7
2. Laurianne Henry/Keri Wong (CU) vs. Cameron Ellis/Lara Fakhoury (UGA) 8-7, unfinished
3. Yvette Hyndman/Naoko Ueshima (UGA) def. Nelly Ciolkowski/Caroline Magnusson (CU) 8-2

Match Notes:
Georgia 13-9; National ranking #19
Clemson 24-5; National ranking #9
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (3,6,4,2,5)
T-3:48