While no one match may ever define the career of Georgia women’s tennis player Nadja Gilchrist, her match Sunday afternoon versus South Carolina in the quarterfinal round of the 2009 NCAA Women’s Team Tennis Championships in College Station, Texas will be one she remembers for quite a while.

Tied at 3-all in the biggest match of the season for the No. 2 seed Bulldogs, all the focus and pressure shifted to the racket of the 5-foot-7 freshman from Webster, N.Y. at the 3-singles match.

And, the freshman All-American didn’t disappoint.

Battling cramps during a grueling third set, Gilchrist outlasted Gamecock freshman Dijana Stojic 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to lift the second-seeded Bulldogs (27-2) to a thrilling, come-from-behind 4-3 win over South Carolina. The victory moves Georgia to its first national semifinal since 2002, and now the Bulldogs are just two wins shy of their third NCAA title in program history.

Gilchrist looked to be in control of the match after she broke Stojic in the fifth game of the third set, but the Gamecock freshman responded with a break of her own to knot the score at 3-all. Gilchrist broke again in the seventh game, but Stojic broke right back in the ensuing game to tie the match score at 4-all.

Each player held their serve in the next two games for 5-5 in the third. Finally in the 11th game, Gilchrist broke through for good. The freshman squandered six break point opportunities before converting on the seventh attempt to go-ahead 6-5, a lead she would never relinquish. During the next changeover, Georgia called a medical timeout allowing the trainers to massage Gilchrist’s lower leg before Gilchrist served out the match.

After the match, Gilchrist dropped to her knees and felt flat on her back as her racket sat on the ground beside her. Instantly, the entire team, who watched and cheered anxiously throughout the third set, swarmed the worn out freshman.

Trailing 3-1, sophomore Cameron Ellis notched the second point for the Bulldogs with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 defeat of Suzanna Mansour at 6-singles, and junior Naoko Ueshima topped Miljana Jocic 6-3, 6-3 to setup Gilchrist’s third clinching victory of her young career.

No. 22 South Carolina, who entered the match as the lowest seed remaining in the tournament, was clearly the “Cinderella” looking to ruin the Bulldogs season. But, the SEC Champion, Georgia, would deny their conference rivals of any such glory.

Monday’s Final Four match pits second-seeded Georgia versus third-seeded Duke (27-3), who upended sixth-seeded Miami 4-1 on Sunday. The match begins at 5 p.m.

NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals: #2 Georgia vs. #22 South Carolina

Doubles

1. #6 Nadja Gilchrist/Chelsey Gullickson (UGA) def. Ana Zubori/Natasa Vuckovic (USC) 8-4

2. Miljana Jocic/Gira Schofield (USC) def. Monika Dancevic/Yvette Hyndman (UGA) 9-7

3. Suzanna Mansour/Dijana Stojic (USC) def. Cameron Ellis/Naoko Ueshima 9-8(3)

Singles

1. #9 Chelsey Gullickson (UGA) def. #43 Gira Schofield (USC) 6-4,6-3

2. #48 Ana Marija Zubori (USC) def. #55 Yvette Hyndman (UGA) 6-3,6-3

3. #56 Nadja Gilchrist (UGA) def. Dijana Stojic (USC) 6-4,4-6,7-5

4. Natasa Vuckovic (USC) def. #93 Monika Dancevic (UGA) 7-6(3),6-3

5. Naoko Ueshima (UGA) def. Miljana Jocic (USC) 6-3,6-3

6. Cameron Ellis (UGA) def. Suzanna Mansour (USC) 2-6,6-3,6-1

Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (2,1,4,6,5,3)

#2 Georgia 27-2; #22 South Carolina 17-11