April 19, 1998

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Florida women’s tennis team won its fourth consecutive and 16th overall Southeastern Conference Tournament title when the Gators defeated Georgia 5-2 in the championship match Sunday at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center on the University of Kentucky campus.

Florida, seeded first in the tournament and ranked second in the country, won five of six singles matches to clinch the victory. The last SEC loss for the Gators (23-0) came to Georgia in the 1994 SEC Championship.

“I think we competed very well,” Florida head coach Andy Brandi said. “Georgia gave us everything we could handle. I felt like we competed extremely well in the crucial points of every match.”

The Gators clinched the victory with Bonnie Bleecker’s 7-5, 7-6(2) win over Christa Gray at No. 6 singles.

“It’s very rewarding to see a senior clinch the match,” Brandi said. “She sets an example for the younger players in showing her determination and her fight there at the end of the match.” The Gators’ only singles loss came at the No. 1 spot, where the nation’s No. 2 singles player, Marissa Catlin, defeated 13th-ranked Dawn Buth 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.

Georgia (19-4), the tournament’s No. 2 seed and the nation’s fourth-ranked team, also picked up a win in the No. 1 doubles match. The Lady Bulldogs’ team of Catlin and Vanessa Castellano, ranked third in the country, won 8-2 over the Florida duo of Buth and Stephanie Nickitas, the nation’s No. 1-ranked doubles team.

“I’m satisfied in the effort these guys gave, and I felt they showed a lot of enthusiasm,” Georgia head coach Jeff Wallace said. “It was one of our goals to win the SEC Tournament, and we didn’t obtain that goal. We did win 19 matches, and we’re ranked fourth in the country. Now we have the NCAAs, and we look forward to that.”

#1 FLORIDA 5, #2 GEORGIA 2

Singles:

1. Marissa Catlin (UGA) def. Dawn Buth (UF) 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
2. M.C. White (UF) def. Aarthi Venkatesan (UGA) 7-5, 1-6, 6-3
3. Stephanie Nickitas (UF) def. Vanessa Castellano (UGA) 6-0, 6-3
4. Whitney Laiho (UF) def. Jane Reid (UGA) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
5. Stephanie Hazlett (UF) def. Lauren Rose (UGA) 6-2, 6-3
6. Bonnie Bleecker (UF) def. Christa Gray (UGA) 7-5, 7-6(2)

Doubles:

1. Catlin/Castellano (UGA) def. Buth/Nickitas (UF) 8-2