Lady Vols Ready to Show Growth Against Georgia

By Rhiannon Potkey, Special to UTSports.com

It wasn't quite a crisis of confidence, more like a period of needed introspection.

Having just been run-ruled twice by Georgia at home for its fifth loss in six games, Tennessee began searching for answers.

The flaws that had been masked by wins during the Lady Vols' 30-1 start were being exposed by familiar opponents. The grind of a long season had reached a pivot point.

Rather than spiraling even deeper, Tennessee looked inward to turn things around.

The players took ownership of their mistakes, accepted their roles and worked harder on fundamentals in practice. The coaches put in more late nights watching film, provided tough love and tried to strengthen the weaknesses.

The 10th-seeded Lady Vols (48-12) have a chance to show how much they've grown this weekend when they face No. 7 Georgia (46-11) again in the NCAA Super Regionals. The series begins Friday at 5 p.m. at Jack Turner Stadium in Athens. Game 2 is Saturday at 3 p.m., and Game 3 (if necessary) is Sunday at 3 p.m.

Tennessee's rebound from the mid-season adversity required accountability, leadership and playing for the name on the front of the jersey and not the birth certificate.

"I think it's a lot of pride and just wanting to uphold the Lady Vol legacy and tradition first of all, and then realizing we've got to focus on the details and not get caught up in our record and end-of-season results and things like that," Tennessee co-head coach Karen Weekly said. "It's about taking care of the little things every day and let the big things take care of themselves."

Tennessee and Georgia are tradition-rich programs with a history of postseason success. The SEC rivals are both making their 10th Super Regional appearance.

They have met twice before in NCAA play, with Tennessee winning both times. The Lady Vols beat Georgia in the 2010 Women's College World Series, and won in three games in a 2012 Super Regional played in Knoxville.

Both teams swept their regionals last weekend to set up this season's rematch. After Tennessee won the opener in Knoxville on March 31, Georgia won 9-1 and 8-0 in six innings to secure the series.

"I think we were really worried about the big picture when we played Georgia then, and now we're just working on each pitch, each swing and each inning," Tennessee senior shortstop Meghan Gregg said after the Lady Vols clinched the regional. "You kind of saw that all throughout this weekend. We were down. We didn't score first these last two games and it didn't even faze us. When we played Georgia, I think when they scored one run we were down and we weren't coming back up. I definitely see a big change in our mentality and attitude, so I'm excited for next weekend."

Georgia isn't the same team Tennessee faced in the first meeting either, with senior ace Brittany Gray lost for the season with a biceps injury.

But Georgia's explosive offense hasn't changed, and Tennessee is hoping to match the production in what could be a showcase for hitting.

Both teams are ranked in the top 20 in the country in batting average, scoring and on-base percentage.
Three of the top 10 RBI leaders in the nation will be on the field – Gregg (No. 2, 72 RBI) Tennessee sophomore Chelsea Seggern (No. 7, 66) and Georgia's Alyssa DiCarlo (No. 8, 64).

DiCarlo has 19 home runs and Gregg, UT's career home run leader, has 18 - two away from breaking the program's single-season record. Tennessee junior Aubrey Leach leads the country in runs scored (79).
"It's going to be pitching and hitting this weekend, probably more hitting than anything," Tennessee junior catcher Abby Lockman said. "They've got a lot of good kids in their lineup, we have a lot of good kids in our lineup. So it is going to come down to who can produce more runs when people are on base, and it's going to come down to not extending innings, keeping them off the bases."

Tennessee's early SEC struggles came after returning from its trip to Hawaii for a spring break tournament. The lengthy travel combined with some sickness and fatigue put the Lady Vols in a vulnerable position.
If they were buying into any hype, they received an immediate wake-up call when South Carolina swept them on the road followed by series losses to Georgia and Auburn.

"There were a lot of obstacles with that whole week and a half right there, but I think it was good for us to see it early," Gregg said. "A lot of our girls really didn't understand the grind and toughness of a long season, and seeing it early and having to figure it out early really has helped us."

It's been more than 50 days since Tennessee first played Georgia, a time when Karen Weekly says the Lady Vols "just weren't in a really good place as a team physically or emotionally."

They've worked to rectify those issues, turning the focus insular and stressing process over outcome.

The rough period helped Tennessee establish a true identity, and instilled a resiliency often needed in the postseason. Co-head coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly can preach about how much true grit is needed for success, but experience is often the best teacher.

"I think they can just feel that we are more of a team. We are playing better ball, everybody just kind of knows their roles and has settled in," Karen Weekly said. "Ralph says all the time there are four stages to a season - forming, storming, norming and performing - and you have to go through all those stages, and sometimes the first couple take a long time before you get to where you are norming and performing."

University of Tennessee Athletics

Players Mentioned

Meghan Gregg

Aubrey Leach

Abby Lockman

Chelsea Seggern

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