Weeks on the road have brought Georgia’s Chelsey Gullickson the focus that she thinks will help her defend her NCAA singles tennis championship when the tournament begins Thursday at Stanford.
After defeating California’s Jana Juricova in two sets to win the title last year in Athens, Gullickson elected to compete on the pro tour. She planned her schedule so that she could retain her amateur status and returned to Georgia for the spring having learned many lessons.
The tour was tough. She went 2-7, with perhaps the highlight being her straight-set loss to top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki in the first round of the U.S. Open.
The road was tougher. An admitted homebody, being away for a month at a time wasn’t fun. She said that, not the losing, was the hardest part of her adventure. “I just struggled being away from friends and family,” said Gullickson, who will open the tournament against Clemson’s Keri Wong.
However, she learned many important lessons: the most important being she has to stay focused and relaxed simultaneously.
“That’s something I lacked,” she said. “Like a two-set match, I wasn’t engaged the whole time. They [the pros] play the same all the way through.”
When she returned, the lessons she learned helped her shrug off the trash-talking comments she would hear from fans during matches about her being the defending champion. Gullickson posted a 12-6 record at No. 1 singles, despite trying to get back into the swing of school and taking every player’s best shot.
“The experiences have helped her tremendously,” Georgia coach Jeff Wallace said. “Being out there and experiencing those things is an intangible you can’t duplicate in other situations.”
Gullickson said she realized last year that her focus needed improvement. She wasn’t happy going 15-5 at No. 1 singles, but then she and Wallace realized that she played her best when she came up with a simple game plan, usually one focused on moving her feet and attacking shots from the baseline.
The simple approach enabled her to keep her focus and plow through the singles tournament field to win Georgia’s first women’s singles title since 1994. “It helped her dial in and get it done,” Wallace said.
Can she win again?
She has been trying to play the same way and said she will need to against a deep field. With the exception of Georgia Tech’s Irina Falconi, most teams have returned their No. 1 player.
Wallace points to the sports adage that it’s always harder to win something a second time, but also noted that Gullickson wouldn’t be the first to repeat.
“She’s a good enough player on any court in any environment,” he said.
If she does win, she won’t turn pro but will return to Georgia for her senior season, she said. No women’s player has won three consecutive singles titles. Next year’s championship will be in Athens. She can be at home.
Gullickson said she’s trying not to think about last year, and she’s definitely not thinking about next year. She’s focusing on lessons learned.
“Now I’m just hoping to go and have fun,” she said.
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NCAA men’s and women’s tennis singles and doubles tournaments
Where: Stanford
When: Wednesday-Monday
Wednesday’s singles matches of note
1 p.m.: Georgia Tech’s Guillermo Gomez vs. Washington’s Kyle McMorrow
1 p.m.: Georgia’s Chelsey Gullickson vs. Clemson’s Keri Wong
1 p.m.: Georgia’s Wil Spencer vs. Louisville’s Austen Childs
2 p.m.: Georgia Tech’s Jillian O’Neill vs. California’s Mari Andersson
2:30 p.m.: Georgia’s Sadio Doumbia vs. Texas Tech’s Gonzalo Escobar
6:30 p.m.: Georgia’s Javier Garrapiz vs. Texas Tech’s Raony Carvalho
Wednesday’s doubles matches of note
Time TBA: Georgia’s Javier Garrapiz and Hernus Pieters vs. Louisville’s Austen Childs and Viktor Maksimcuk
Time TBA: Georgia’s Chelsey Gullickson and Kate Fuller vs. Michigan’s Brooke Bolendar and Denise Muresan
Time TBA: Georgia Tech’s Kevin King and Juan Spir vs. Washington’s Kyle McMorrow and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan
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