ATHENS, Ga. – It all came down to the final points for the doubles title of the ITA Sectional Championships on Sunday as Georgia Tech’s Alejandra Cruz and Given Roach were crowned champions. The Yellow Jackets battled through a super tiebreak in a match that took just under two hours for the title.
It was an in-state rivalry matchup for the doubles title on Sunday as Cruz and Roach took on Georgia’s Guillermina Grant and Aysegul Mert. In the opening set, the teams traded games to a 3-all tally before the Jackets broke open, winning the next three games for the set, 6-3.
Early in the second set, the Jackets faced a pair of break points in their second service game, but they regrouped and Roach held serve to give Tech a 3-1 advantage. But the lead was short-lived as the Bulldogs fought back and took the next five games to win the set, 6-3, and force a super tiebreak to decide the match.
In the tiebreak, the Jackets gained quick momentum, grabbing an early 5-3 lead. But Grant and Mert moved back to 5-5 as the opponents battled to the final point for the trophy. Leading 7-5 in the breaker, the Jackets won three of the next five points to clinch the match, 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (10-7).
With the win, Cruz and Roach return to action at the NCAA Doubles Championships, Nov. 19-24. The individual championships will be played at the University of Baylor.
RESULTS
Doubles
D – Final: No. 88 Alejandra Cruz/Given Roach (GT) def. Guillermina Grant/Aysegul Mert (UGA) 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (10-7)
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
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