Saturday, May 20
Malibu, CA
10:00 AM
Florida Gators
2
at
5
Georgia - NCAA Semifinal
Women's Tennis Loses to Georgia in NCAA Semifinals
Saturday, May 20, 2000 | Women's Tennis
The fourth-ranked University of Florida women's tennis team couldn't overcome a 4-2 deficit after singles play and lost to second-ranked Georgia 5-2 in the semifinals of the NCAA Championships this afternoon at Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center.
The Gators (25-3) had appeared in the NCAA finals each of the last five years prior to Saturday's loss. The Lady Bulldogs (26-3) face either defending NCAA-champion Stanford or California in Sunday's championship match.
"Georgia was too good today," UF head coach Andy Brandi said. "They were the better team today and the better team won. We just ran into a better team. There's no ifs, ands or whys about it."
Florida managed wins at only the no. 1 and no. 6 singles positions and needed to sweep the three doubles positions to win the match.
"I felt we could win all three doubles matches," Brandi said. "We had played them in Athens earlier this year and we were very competitive. We just put ourselves in too much of a hole against a such a good team like Georgia and we couldn't dig our way out of it."
Georgia's no. 1 doubles team of Marissa Catlin and Lori Grey, ranked second in the nation, defeated Whitney Laiho and Jessica Lehnhoff 8-3 to clinch the match for the Bulldogs.
"Georgia played great today and deserved to win today," UF senior Baili Camino said. "We practice for situations like we were in today and I felt good about our chances in doubles. But Georgia just played better than us and won today."
Several momentum shifts led to doubles play, as Florida avoided being eliminated in singles. UF freshman Julia Scaringe trailed her no. 6 singles match to Anne Nguyen, who entered the match with a perfect 20-0 record. The Gator rookie, who lost twice to Nguyen in straight sets this season, trailed 2-0 in the third set before ripping off the next six games to take the 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 victory.
Florida started the day with a solid victory from junior Whitney Laiho, who upset fifth-ranked Aarthi Venkatesan 6-0, 7-5 at the no. 1 position.
Georgia countered with an unexpected win at the no. 4 spot, where Lori Grey, ranked 33rd, defeated 36th-ranked Baili Camino 6-4, 6-1. It was only the first time Grey topped Camino in four tries this year. Camino also entered the match with a 16-match winning streak.
The momentum really started to swing Georgia's direction with the play of Marissa Catlin at the no. 3 position. UF's Stephanie Hazlett roared out to a 5-2 lead in the first set, but Catlin stormed back to win the next five games and stole the opening set. Hazlett couldn't recover and dropped the 7-5, 6-2 decision.
The no. 5 position then finished play, with Kelly Baskin earning her first-ever victory over Traci Green, who had owned a 3-0 record in head-to-head matches during their careers, including a pair of straight-set wins this year. Baskin jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first set, behind two services breaks. Green rallied to win four straight games to get back on serve, but Baskin earned a break in the 11th game and then held serve to win the opening set en route to the 7-5, 6-3 victory.
Gator sophomore Jessica Lehnhoff battled 10th-ranked Esther Knox and forced a third set despite only holding her serve twice throughout the entire first two sets. Knox opened the final set with a break and jumped out to a 3-0 lead on her way to the 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 win and give the Bulldogs a 4-1 lead.
In the post-match press conference, Laiho announced that she would forgo her final collegiate season and join the professional tennis tour following the conclusion of the NCAA singles and doubles championships.
"I just feel like I'm ready," Laiho said. "I didn't base this decision on results, I just felt like I was ready to turn pro after this year." Laiho will join teammates Baili Camino, Stephanie Hazlett and Jessica Lehnhoff in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships, which begin on Monday in Malibu.
NCAA Women's Tennis Championships
Malibu, Calif.
Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center
Semifinals
Georgia d. Florida 5-2
California vs. Stanford
UF's individual results
Final Score: Georgia 5, Florida 2
Singles
No. 1 Whitney Laiho, UF Aarthi Venkatesan, UG 6-0, 7-5
No. 2 Esther Knox, UG d. Jessica Lehnhoff, UF 6-3, 2-6, 6-1
No. 3 Marissa Catlin, UG d. Stephanie Hazlett, UF 7-5, 6-2
No. 4 Lori Grey, UG d. Baili Camino, UF 6-4, 6-1
No. 5 Kelly Baskin, UG d. Traci Green, UF 7-5, 6-3
No. 6 Julia Scaringe, UF d. Anne Nguyen, UG 7-5, 3-6, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1 Catlin/Grey, UG d. Laiho/Lehnhoff, UF 8-3*
No. 2 Green/Scaringe, UF vs. Knox/Venkatesan, UG suspended
No. 3 Camino/Hazlett, UF vs. Baskin/Zoe Mellis, UG suspended
*Clinched dual match
The Gators (25-3) had appeared in the NCAA finals each of the last five years prior to Saturday's loss. The Lady Bulldogs (26-3) face either defending NCAA-champion Stanford or California in Sunday's championship match.
"Georgia was too good today," UF head coach Andy Brandi said. "They were the better team today and the better team won. We just ran into a better team. There's no ifs, ands or whys about it."
Florida managed wins at only the no. 1 and no. 6 singles positions and needed to sweep the three doubles positions to win the match.
"I felt we could win all three doubles matches," Brandi said. "We had played them in Athens earlier this year and we were very competitive. We just put ourselves in too much of a hole against a such a good team like Georgia and we couldn't dig our way out of it."
Georgia's no. 1 doubles team of Marissa Catlin and Lori Grey, ranked second in the nation, defeated Whitney Laiho and Jessica Lehnhoff 8-3 to clinch the match for the Bulldogs.
"Georgia played great today and deserved to win today," UF senior Baili Camino said. "We practice for situations like we were in today and I felt good about our chances in doubles. But Georgia just played better than us and won today."
Several momentum shifts led to doubles play, as Florida avoided being eliminated in singles. UF freshman Julia Scaringe trailed her no. 6 singles match to Anne Nguyen, who entered the match with a perfect 20-0 record. The Gator rookie, who lost twice to Nguyen in straight sets this season, trailed 2-0 in the third set before ripping off the next six games to take the 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 victory.
Florida started the day with a solid victory from junior Whitney Laiho, who upset fifth-ranked Aarthi Venkatesan 6-0, 7-5 at the no. 1 position.
Georgia countered with an unexpected win at the no. 4 spot, where Lori Grey, ranked 33rd, defeated 36th-ranked Baili Camino 6-4, 6-1. It was only the first time Grey topped Camino in four tries this year. Camino also entered the match with a 16-match winning streak.
The momentum really started to swing Georgia's direction with the play of Marissa Catlin at the no. 3 position. UF's Stephanie Hazlett roared out to a 5-2 lead in the first set, but Catlin stormed back to win the next five games and stole the opening set. Hazlett couldn't recover and dropped the 7-5, 6-2 decision.
The no. 5 position then finished play, with Kelly Baskin earning her first-ever victory over Traci Green, who had owned a 3-0 record in head-to-head matches during their careers, including a pair of straight-set wins this year. Baskin jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first set, behind two services breaks. Green rallied to win four straight games to get back on serve, but Baskin earned a break in the 11th game and then held serve to win the opening set en route to the 7-5, 6-3 victory.
Gator sophomore Jessica Lehnhoff battled 10th-ranked Esther Knox and forced a third set despite only holding her serve twice throughout the entire first two sets. Knox opened the final set with a break and jumped out to a 3-0 lead on her way to the 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 win and give the Bulldogs a 4-1 lead.
In the post-match press conference, Laiho announced that she would forgo her final collegiate season and join the professional tennis tour following the conclusion of the NCAA singles and doubles championships.
"I just feel like I'm ready," Laiho said. "I didn't base this decision on results, I just felt like I was ready to turn pro after this year." Laiho will join teammates Baili Camino, Stephanie Hazlett and Jessica Lehnhoff in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships, which begin on Monday in Malibu.
NCAA Women's Tennis Championships
Malibu, Calif.
Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center
Semifinals
Georgia d. Florida 5-2
California vs. Stanford
UF's individual results
Final Score: Georgia 5, Florida 2
Singles
No. 1 Whitney Laiho, UF Aarthi Venkatesan, UG 6-0, 7-5
No. 2 Esther Knox, UG d. Jessica Lehnhoff, UF 6-3, 2-6, 6-1
No. 3 Marissa Catlin, UG d. Stephanie Hazlett, UF 7-5, 6-2
No. 4 Lori Grey, UG d. Baili Camino, UF 6-4, 6-1
No. 5 Kelly Baskin, UG d. Traci Green, UF 7-5, 6-3
No. 6 Julia Scaringe, UF d. Anne Nguyen, UG 7-5, 3-6, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1 Catlin/Grey, UG d. Laiho/Lehnhoff, UF 8-3*
No. 2 Green/Scaringe, UF vs. Knox/Venkatesan, UG suspended
No. 3 Camino/Hazlett, UF vs. Baskin/Zoe Mellis, UG suspended
*Clinched dual match
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