While most of us spent the weekend next to the grill, the pool, and hopefully mindful of the reason for the long weekend, many of the remaining Bulldog athletes in action decided that winning was the best way to enjoy the holiday weekend.

Softball

The Georgia softball team completed an impressive sweep of Cal on Saturday to earn a consecutive trip to the Women’s College World Series. Can’t blame the ESPN crew for trying to build up as much SEC vs. Pac-10 drama as they could, but Georgia made sure that the series was as far from dramatic as you can get. The Bulldogs won the series by a combined 17-1 score, and they had each game more or less in hand by the second inning. LF Megan Wiggins was the star with a fantastic diving catch in the field and a grand slam in Saturday’s clincher. With Taylor Schlopy and Alisa Goler, I can’t imagine a more potent top third of a lineup in the nation.

Georgia gets to face a familiar postseason foe in the WCWS. Top seeds Alabama and Michigan were upset in their super regionals over the weekend, but third-seeded and defending champion Washington avoided the upset bug and will be Georgia’s opening opponent in Oklahoma City as they were a year ago. The Huskies lost their first super regional game to Oklahoma but stormed back with consecutive shutouts.

Georgia lost their opener to Washington last year but battled back through the loser’s bracket to earn another shot at the Huskies. Georgia won 9-8 in a thrilling extra-innings game to setup yet another game against Washington with a trip to the national title game on the line. Washington proved to be too much and went on to beat Florida for the title. If Georgia can take one positive from last year’s experience, it’s that they got to untouchable Washington pitcher Danielle Lawrie for ten earned runs over those final two games. They were also the only team to defeat Washington in the WCWS. Georgia’s offense is every bit as potent as it was last year, and they’ll have a bit of confidence going up against a familiar and talented foe.

Georgia faces Washington at 9:30 on Thursday evening, and the game will be on ESPN2.

W Tennis

The weekend was topped off with an individual national title: sophomore tennis player Chelsey Gullickson pulled off upset after upset during the women’s singles tournament and defeated Cal’s Jana Juricova 6-3,7-6(7)to claim the program’s third individual championship. Her quest to add a doubles title fell just short as her team fell in the national semifinals.

Though Gullickson was ranked a respectable 12th in the nation, her path through the field included four matches against higher-ranked players.

Gullickson’s road to the national championship featured six wins including over top-ranked Irina Falconi (Georgia Tech), second-ranked Juricova, fourth-ranked Hilary Barte and eighth-ranked Allie Will (Florida).

A national title that included wins over Florida and Tech? Chelsey Gullickson accomplished every Bulldog’s dream.

…and Bass Fishing?

How good of a weekend was it? Georgia’s Ben Cleary and Bo Page even claimed the 2010 BoatU.S. Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship. (h/t David Hale)