Tackle becomes YouTube sensation
Lindsay Burdette had no intention of creating a YouTube moment, but the result of her pure exuberance three days ago has become the most talked-about event in the NCAA Tennis Championships.
Continue reading the rest of "Tackle becomes YouTube sensation" by Athens Banner-Herald
The Stanford senior rushed the court after her freshman sister, Mallory, clinched the Cardinal's NCAA team title with a three-set win over Florida's Marrit Boonstra on Tuesday. When she reached her younger sister, Lindsay laid her out with a form tackle that would rival the best hits delivered by a Stanford football linebacker.
And it's all she has heard about in the last few days.
"Everybody who I haven't talked to yet after we won, is like, 'Oh, great job. How bout that tackle?' " Lindsay Burdette said. "I had no idea (it would create a stir). That was not my plan at all. But I'm really not ashamed of it."
Not that she should be, except for one unfortunate result of the hit, which left Mallory flat on her back just before the rest of the Cardinal team piled on top of her to celebrate the victory.
"She has a bulging disc (in her back)," Lindsay Burdette said. "I was on the ground going, 'Mallory, are you OK? Did I hurt you?' "
Mallory went on to play in the NCAA singles competition, winning her first-round match before falling to eighth-seeded Laura Vallverdu of Miami in Thursday's second round. Meanwhile, her older sister is still on pace to contend for a doubles championship.
She and Hilary Barte are the tournament's No. 2 doubles seeds and have cruised to a pair of victories thus far, entering today's matchup with Baylor's Csilla Borsanyi and Lenka Broosova.
"I think through all the tournaments that Hilary and I have played together and all the matches, the one thing that we've learned is that even in the tournaments that you win, there are gonna be matches where you were way down and you're really having to scrap it out and problem-solve," Lindsay Burdette said. "And it's making it through those that really helps your confidence in the later rounds. Although we haven't had that match yet, I'm sure it's in there somewhere."
Comeback kids
Georgia's Chelsey Gullickson and Nadja Gilchrist faced a similar situation on Friday to one where they wilted in the NCAA doubles tournament last year as freshmen.
Ole Miss' Kristi Boxx and Karen Nijssen blasted the Bulldogs duo 6-1 in Friday's first set of their sec
© 2009 http://onlineathens.com - Athens Banner-Herald - All rights reserved.
Comment on "Tackle becomes YouTube sensation"