Amanda McDowell played a big role in winning the first NCAA team championship in Georgia Tech history.

On Monday, McDowell has the chance to win an NCAA championship for herself.

McDowell plays Baylor's Zuzana Zemenova at 2 p.m. in the singles final in Tulsa, Okla.

McDowell, a sophomore from Atlanta's Marist School, beat Auburn's Fani Chifchieva 6-3, 6-2 in Sunday's semifinals. Zemenova, the 2005 NCAA singles champion, knocked off top seed Aurelija Miseviciute of Arkansas in the other semifinal 7-6 (2), 6-4.

McDowell, the seventh seed, has advanced farther than any other player in Georgia Tech history, but she's no stranger to playing for a title. She beat UCLA's Ashley Joelson 6-1, 6-0 in last year's team title match, and she said that memory will help her today.

"I've had the feeling of playing for a national title before," McDowell said. "I know how to handle the nerves in that match. I can draw from the experience in that high-pressure situation."

McDowell has won a Tech-record 44 singles matches this season, and she has been playing her best tennis the past few days. Sunday's was her third consecutive straight-set victory, after going three sets in the first two matches of the 64-player championship bracket.

"This girl is playing out of this world," Tech coach Bryan Shelton said. "Someone's going to have to come up with something very, very special to beat her."

McDowell missed two matches in midseason because of shin splints but came back strong.

"I feel awesome out there," she said. "I'm just truly excited to be in the finals."

McDowell is seeking the first individual title in Tech tennis history and the institute's 26th individual NCAA championship overall.