April 10, 2010
ATLANTA – Sophomore Lynn Blau won a three-set thriller to lead the 20th-ranked Georgia Tech Women’s Tennis team (13-7, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) to a 4-3 upset victory over No. 7 Duke (17-4, 5-2) Saturday afternoon at the Bill Moore Tennis Center.
Blau recovered from a 4-1 deficit in the third set to pull out an exciting 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 (6) win over Mary Clayton at No. 4 singles to clinch the match for the Yellow Jackets.
“It was a team effort today against the reigning national champions,” head coach Bryan Shelton said. “I thought we showed true character and grit to lose the doubles point but come back and win the match. Duke is a great team and program. Whenever you get a win against that team you have done something special.
“I was especially proud of Lynn and Sasha [Krupina] to break through today. They got two huge wins for us. We need to recover quickly and get ready for another top team in North Carolina.”
The Blue Devils took two of three doubles matches to open an early 1-0 lead on Tech. The Jackets top team of Irina Falconi and Sasha Krupina defeated No. 42 Ellah Nze and Amanda Granson, 8-6, on court one.
Freshman Elizabeth Kilborn put the Jackets on the board with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Monica Gorny on court five. Tech moved ahead 2-1 after Krupina finished off Granson, 7-5, 6-3, at the No. 3 position in the lineup.
Duke would even the score at 2-2 behind a Jessica Stiles 6-4, 6-4 win over sophomore Hillary Davis at No. 6 singles.
Falconi, the nation’s top-ranked player, won her 13th straight singles match with a come-from-behind 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory over No. 40 Ellah Nze on court one to give the Jackets a 3-2 lead. Falconi dropped her first set since a match on Feb. 13.
Sophomore Christina Ngo, playing in the second spot in the lineup, battled but ultimately dropped a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 decision to No. 39 Reka Zslinszka to tie the score at 3-3.
The match came down to Blau and she came through with the victory.
The Yellow Jackets will make its final appearance of the regular season at the Bill Moore Tennis Center tomorrow against No. 2 North Carolina at noon. The team will honor its lone senior Amanda McDowell prior to the match.
-RamblinWreck.com-
