April 22, 2005

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.. - The 18th-ranked and fourth-seeded University of Tennessee Lady Vol tennis team fell to the fifth seed, No. 7 Georgia, 4-1, in the quarterfinals of the 2005 SEC Women's Tennis Tournament in Tuscaloosa, Ala. on Friday.

Tennessee (14-8), facing Georgia(14-6) for the second time in six days, was unable to match the upset result of last Saturday's meeting in Knoxville, won by the Lady Vols, 4-3.

Georgia came out strong during the doubles session. At the No. 1 position, the Lady Vol pair of junior Sabita Maharaj (Gainesville, Fla. / Buchholz H.S.) and freshman Bryce Marable (Darien, Ill. / Hinsdale South H.S.) fell to the third-ranked Georgia team of Caroline Basu and Shadisha Robinson by an 8-1 margin.

The No. 2 UT tandem of junior Melissa Schaub (Lexington, Ohio / Lexington H.S.) and freshman Ghizela Schutte (Ninapark, South Africa / Damelin College) came up with a 8-4 win over Georgia's Kelley Hyndman and Evgenia Subbotina. It was the second consecutive win by Schaub and Schutte, both coming over Hyndman and Subbotina.

The No. 3 combo of Natalie Frazier and Jitka Schonfeldova defeated UT's freshman Daron Moore (North Hollywood, Calif. / Campbell Hall School) and sophomore Blakeley Griffith (Middleburg, Va. / Loudoun County H.S.) 8-4 to give UGA the doubles point and a 1-0 match lead.

"Georgia came out fired up and ready to play," Co-Head Coach Mike Patrick said. "They showed how talented they were. We had our day, now they have theirs. We have to get back to work to have ours again."

Tennessee got off to a strong start in the singles competition as Schutte rallied from an 0-3 deficit to win the first set of her match with Schonfeldova, 6-3. The freshman closed out the match with a 6-0 win in the second set. Schutte has now won five straight matches, all in straight sets and has won the second set of each by a 6-0 count.

Georgia pulled ahead 2-1 as Basu broke Vicky Jones' (Tyne & Wear, U.K. / South Tyneside College) seven match winning streak, 6-3, 6-2. Jones had defeated Basu last week's contest, 6-4, 6-1.

At the No. 4 spot, Hyndman defeated Marable, 6-3, 6-0, to put the Bulldogs within one point of a match win at 3-1.

The final point came for Georgia on court two as eighth-ranked Robinson defeated Griffith, 6-4, 6-4, to end UT's tournament run.

With the match decided, SEC Tournament rules ended the remaining singles matches without conclusion. At the time of the stoppage, Maharaj was leading in the second set of her match with Frazier, 3-2, after losing set one, 6-4. On court five, Ashley Robards finished two points shy of a three-set victory over Evgenia Subbotina, 1-6, 6-1, 4-1.

Tennessee now awaits its NCAA Tournament seeding and location. The NCAA First and Second Rounds will be held at campus sites May 13-15.

Tennis Match Results
Georgia vs Tennessee
Apr 22, 2005 at Tuscaloosa, Ala.

#7 Georgia 4, #18 Tennessee 1

Singles competition:
1.	#40 Sabita Maharaj (TN) vs. #26 Natalie Frazier (UGA)	4-6, 3-2, unfinished
2.	#8 Shadisha Robinson (UGA) def. #85 Blakeley Griffith (TN)	6-4, 6-4
3.	#90 Caroline Basu (UGA) def. Vicky Jones (TN)	6-3, 6-2
4.	Kelley Hyndman (UGA) def. Bryce Marable (TN)	6-2, 6-0
5.	Ashley Robards (TN) vs. Evgenia Subbotina (UGA)	1-6, 6-1, 4-1, unfinished
6.	Ghizela Schutte (TN) def. Jitka Schonfeldova (UGA)	6-3, 6-0
Doubles competition:
1.	#3 Caroline Basu/Shadisha Robinson (UGA) def. Sabita Maharaj/Bryce Marable (TN)	8-1
2.	Melissa Schaub/Ghizela Schutte (TN) def. Kelley Hyndman/Evgenia Subbotina (UGA)	8-4
3.	Natalie Frazier/Jitka Schonfeldova (UGA) def. Blakeley Griffith/Daron Moore (TN)	8-4

Match Notes:
Georgia 13-6; National ranking #7
Tennessee 14-7; National ranking #18
Order of finish: Doubles (1); Singles (6,3,4,2)