Feb. 19, 2011
Charlottesville, Va. – The No. 13 Georgia Tech women’s tennis team (4-2) dropped a hard fought battle to No. 8 Michigan (7-0) in both teams’ opening match at the 2011 ITA National Indoor Championship, being hosted by the University of Virginia.
It was the second time in a month the Jackets and Wolverines squared off. In the season opening Michigan Invitational, the two sides split singles and doubles matches in the individual based tournament.
Tonight, the Jackets came up just short and the score wasn’t indicative of how close a match it was. In this event, the two sides play until one team clinches a match victory with four points.
The Wolverines grabbed an early advantage by winning the doubles points. At No. 1 doubles, Tech’s 70th ranked team of Sasha Krupina & Elizabeth Kilborn, 8-4. At No. 2 doubles, the Jackets’ pair of Jillian O’Neill and Viet Ha Ngo suffered a tough 8-6 loss to Michigan’s Whitney Taney and Rika Tatsuno.
The Wolverines took three of the first four singles matches to end to claim the victory. Michigan went up 3-0 with a 6-2, 6-2, win by Tatsuno over Tech rookie Rocio Alberca Lopez, and a 6-0, 7-5 win by Brooke Bolender over the Jackets’ Krupina.
Tech got on the board with its first point as O’Neill bounced back from losing a tough second set to claim a 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 victory over the Wolverines’ 34th-ranked Sam Critser. Michigan clinched the match with a hard-fought 7-5, 7-5 win by Mimi Nguyen over Kilborn.
The Jackets will be back in action on Saturday at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship as they face the No. 5 Cal Golden Bears at 7:30 p.m. For more information, visit the ITA website (itatennis.com), or visit the official tournament host page by clicking here. You can also follow us on Twitter, @GT_WTEN, for instant updates.
Match Results
#8 Michigan vs #13 Georgia Tech
Feb 18, 2011 at Charlottesville, Va.
U-M 4, GT 1
Singles competition:
1. #8 Denise Mureson (U-M) v. #105 Viet Ha Ngo (GT), 7-6 (7-1), 3-1 (DNF)
2. #61 Jillian O’Neill (GT) def. #34 Sam Critser (U-M), 6-3, 1-6, 6-3
3. #104 Brooke Bolender (U-M) def. Sasha Krupina (GT), 6-0, 7-5
4. #71 Whitney Taney (U-M) vs. Lynn Blau (GT) 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 0-0 (DNF)
5. #123 Mimi Nguyen (U-M) def. Elizabeth Kilborn (GT) 7-5, 7-5
6. Rika Tatsuno (U-M) def. Rocio Alberca Lopez (GT), 6-2, 6-2
Doubles competition:
1. #22 Bolender/Muresan (U-M) def. #70 Krupina/Kilborn, 8-4 (GT)
2. Taney/Tatsuno (U-M) def. #68 O’Neill/Ngo, 8-6 (GT)
3. Critser/Ngueyen (U-M) v. Lilley/Blau (GT), 7-6 (DNF)
Match Notes:
Michigan 7-0; National ranking #8
Georgia Tech 4-2; National ranking #13
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (6,3,2,5)
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