Stanford Falls to Georgia

The Georgia Bulldogs, shut out of the NCAA Division I women’s tennis final for six years, made their return memorable.

Second-ranked Georgia beat No. 1 Stanford 5-4 to win its second national title Sunday at Pepperdine. The Bulldogs (27-2) avenged a 4-3 regular-season loss to the heavily-favored and previously-unbeaten Cardinal, which dropped to 30-1. Stanford also had a winning streak end at 46 matches.

“That was a really close match [in February],” Georgia Coach Jeff Wallace said. “We talked as a group afterward . . . we came so close to winning that match. We wanted to keep working and get revenge on this team. We felt like it would be close again.”

The Bulldogs clinched the championship in an epic No. 1 doubles match featuring two of the best teams in the nation. The Bulldogs’ Marissa Catlin and Lori Grey, ranked No. 2 in the nation, beat Stanford’s Marissa Irvin and Ashley, ranked fourth, 7-3. The teams were tied, 3-3, after singles.

Stanford, the defending champion, dominated the first three days of the championships and seemed destined to win its 11th team title. But Georgia rallied with superior doubles play. Besides Catlin and Grey’s win, the Bulldogs’ Esther Knox and Aarthi Venkatesan upset the 13th-ranked team of Laura Granville-Keiko-Tokuda, 8-3.

“Georgia was very good,” Stanford Coach Frank Brennan said. “Upsets happen. [Georgia] rose to the challenge.”

Especially Venkatesan, ranked No. 5 in the nation and in fifth-seeded in the individual tournament, which begins today. She upset the top-ranked Irvin, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3, in No. 1 singles, handing the sophomore from Santa Monica just her second loss of the season.

Irvin beat Venkatesan in straight sets at the USTA indoors in February.

In another upset, Catlin, one of the nation’s top juniors four years ago but now ranked No. 55 in college, beat the Stanford’s Lauren Kalvaria (24-3) in straight sets 7-5, 7-6 (2).

Irvin, who won a Southern Section title at Harvard-Westlake High in Studio City, is the top seeded player in this week’s individual competition.