COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS — The second-ranked Georgia women’s tennis team held a pair of practice sessions here Wednesday in preparation for its NCAA Round of 16 match later this week.

The Bulldogs (25-2) are the number two overall seed and face No. 15 Florida Friday at 1 p.m. ET. Georgia will practice once more on Thursday before facing the Gators (16-9). Georgia brings a 14-match winning streak to College Station. The Bulldogs won the 2009 Southeastern Conference regular season title and the SEC Tournament crown.

Like they did for the SEC Tournament, the Georgia team had t-shirts made with a special slogan, and they wore them during their first practice here. All-SEC junior Yvette Hyndman was the chief designer again. On the front of the black shirt, it reads “Be Unstoppable, Finish Strong,” and on the back, it reads “Bulldog Nation Invades College Station, NCAAA 2009.” The team said they are hoping for the same level of success they enjoyed at the SEC Tournament.

Georgia head coach Jeff Wallace said he was pleased with how both sessions went Wednesday.

“We arrived safely Tuesday, got two good workouts in today and overall we’re just getting used to the speed of the courts,” said Wallace. “The courts are similar to what we have at home. We knew it was going to be hot and windy here, and it was today. Everyone continues to work hard and get ready for our first match here.”

The Bulldogs advanced to the round of 16 with wins over South Carolina State and Boise State in Athens last week. Georgia went 13-0 at home this season, 6-1 at an opponent’s courts and 6-1 at neutral sites. The Bulldogs went 1-1 against the Gators this season. Florida edged Georgia 4-3 in Gainesville on March 13, and then the Bulldogs eliminated Florida in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament on April 25 in Fayetteville, Ark. This will be the fourth time in school history that the Bulldogs and Gators will meet in the NCAA Tournament. The first three meetings came in the semifinals (1995 in Malibu, UF won 5-0; 1998 in Notre Dame, UF won 5-1 and in 2000 in Malibu, Georgia won 5-2).

Georgia is making its 23rd consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and it owns a 55-20 record. The Bulldogs claimed NCAA national titles in 1994 and 2000.

The 2009 Bulldog lineup features four players ranked in the top 100 in singles including the freshmen Chelsey Gullickson and Nadja Gilchrist, and they are ranked sixth in doubles. Gullickson leads the team with a 36-9 record and is the highest ranked Bulldog in singles at number nine.

- Georgia Sports Communications