The Red and Black

Issue date: 2/25/08 Section: Sports

DANCEVIC

Preparing for a team that has the majority of its players ranked, playing your biggest rival who just came off a National Team Indoors Championship, defeating this team off the racket of a player who is down in the third set and battling leg cramps.

Check, check and check

If that sounds familiar, it's because it's what happened last year when the Georgia women's tennis team beat Georgia Tech in Athens 5-2.

Then Saturday came and déjà vu hit both programs head-on.

Trailing at 3-0 against No. 1 Georgia Tech (7-2) in Atlanta, the No. 4 Bulldogs (7-1) rallied with four-straight singles matches to upset the Yellow Jackets 4-3.

Junior Monika Dancevic clinched the match while fighting through leg cramps, just as she did last year. She defeated Kirsten Flower 5-7, 6-3, 7-5. Dancevic fell behind in the third set before winning five straight games.

"I thought it was a tall order then," head coach Jeff Wallace said. "Monika was down 4-0, cramping and not feeling good. But she absolutely played great tennis. It was inspirational."

The win comes only two weeks after Georgia Tech blanked Georgia 7-0 at the National Team Indoors.

"It's a situation where as a coach you don't need to say anything," Wallace said. "It was said on the courts."

Georgia Tech won the doubles point 2-1 and looked to be in control once again. Tech's Maya Johansson defeated Adrienne Elsberry 6-1, 6-4, and Kristi Miller beat Kelley Hyndman 6-1, 6-2 to put Georgia Tech up 3-0.

Then Georgia's comeback began.

Cameron Ellis was the first Bulldog to finish, beating Noelle Hickey 6-3, 6-4. Naoko Ueshima followed suit, getting revenge over Christy Striplin with a 6-3, 6-1 decision.

Yvette Hyndman tied the match for the Bulldogs with a 6-1, 6-7 (2-7), 6-2 win over Whitney McCray.

Then, Dancevic closed the match with her clincher.

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