Published: September 27, 2008 08:24 am      

Refreshed Gullickson on the go once again

ASHLAND — A year off is doing wonders for 21-year-old Carly Gullickson.

After putting her professional tennis career aside for most of 2007, a rejuvenated Gullickson is enjoying the game — and her results — once again.

The latest evidence came Friday afternoon at the Ashland Tennis Center.

Gullickson defeated 18-year-old Lauren Albanese 6-3, 6-3 in a quarterfinal matchup of U.S. players at the $50,000 Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital Tennis Classic.

Later, Gullickson and Ashland’s Julie Ditty moved within a victory of their second consecutive USTA Pro Circuit doubles championship by cruising past Catalina Castano and Alina Jidkova 6-1, 6-2.

Gullickson and Ditty, seeded No. 2, will meet Liga Dekmeijere and Jelena Pandzic this afternoon following the singles semifinals.

The schedule begins at 11 a.m. with Gullickson going up against top-seeded Mariana Duque-Marino of Colombia. The second semifinal matches last year’s runner-up, Varvara Lepchenko, against Shenay Perry.

Gullickson, a serve-and-volley player whose resume includes two WTA Tour doubles titles, has consistently advanced deep into tournaments this year.

“I feel refreshed now,’’ said Gullickson, who grew up in Nashville and now lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. “Even if I lose, I have a different mentality. I don’t put tennis so high above everything else now.’’

Gullickson’s doubles ranking reached No. 52 in April of 2006, but her singles game lagged behind and Gullickson said she fell into a rut from losing matches and not adjusting well.

“I think I got burned out,’’ said Gullickson, a daughter of former major league pitcher Bill Gullickson. “I took off all of last year. Mentally I needed a break. I didn’t play for eight months.’’

Toward the end of 2007, Gullickson started working with Harold Solomon and partner Andy Brandi at the Harold Solomon Tennis Institute in Ft. Lauderdale.

“They really helped me with fitness and the whole mental and physical part,’’ she said.

The break enabled Gullickson to recharge and rediscover her passion for the game. Her ranking plummeted with inactivity, but now it’s back up to 218 in singles and 94 in doubles.

Gullickson is 34-16 in singles this season, including a championship at $25,000 Hammond, La., and runner-up finish at $50,000 Lexington in July.

She has three wins this week and continued to mix her game well in getting past Albanese.

“Lauren hits the ball great and really competes,’’ Gullickson said. “I knew it would be a tough match. With my game style, I like to serve and volley, chip and throw in some slices and drop shots.’’

It’s a successful approach that Gullickson learned several years ago.

“My first coach, Bill Tym, taught me to keep your opponent guessing,’’ Gullickson said. “All these girls can hit the ball so well. If I am going to stay on the baseline, they are going to beat me.’’

Duque-Marino advanced to the semifinals with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Neuza Silva. On the other side, Perry defeated Betina Jozami 6-1, 7-6 and the sixth-seeded Lepchenko stopped Madison Brengle 6-3, 6-4.

In doubles, Dekmeijere and Pandzic beat top-seeded Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears 7-5, 6-2 in the semifinals.

ROCKY STANLEY can be reached at rstanley@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2671.