Oct. 13, 2005
ATHENS, Ga. –
Five Yellow Jackets, No. 3 seed Kristi Miller, No. 14 seed Kelly Anderson, No. 15 seed Tarryn Rudman, Lyndsay Shosho and Christy Striplin, won their first and second-round singles matches to advance to the Round of 16 at the ITA South Region Championships, which is being held at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on the campus of the University of Georgia.
Eighth-ranked Miller blanked Auburn’s Irina Pljusznyin, 6-0, 6-0, in first round action before defeating Alabama’s Shelly Godwin, 6-0, 6-2 to advance to a Round of 16 matchup with Liz Cruz of USF.
No. 102 Anderson, coming off a consolation championship in the qualifying round of ITA All-Americans, downed Florida State’s Ania Rynarzewska, 6-4, 6-4, in her first round match and then stopped `Bama’s Mari Muller, 6-1, 6-3, setting up a Round of 16 match against Georgia’s 16th-ranked Natalie Frazier, the tournament’s No. 4 seed.
Rudman, ranked No. 103 in the nation, came back to win her first-round match against Troy’s Tsitsi Masyiba, 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 and then battled for a 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 victory over UAB’s Nisha Maier-Knapp. She will play UGA’s sixth-ranked Shadisha Robinson, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, in the Round of 16 Friday afternoon.
Shosho stopped the championship’s No. 7 seed, 55th-ranked Neyssa Etienne, in the first round by defeating the USF standout, 6-1, 6-1, and then came back with a 6-0, 6-1 win against Bethune-Cookman’s Olga Ruislova to advance to the Round of 16, where she will face 13th-seeded Ilona Somers, who is ranked No. 100 in the nation.
The rookie Striplin delivered a 6-2, 6-4 victory vs. USF’s Iciri Rai in her first round match and then easily defeated the tournament’s No. 9 seed, 85th-ranked Emily Mowery of Miami (Fla.), 6-1, 6-0 to set up a Round of 16 match against Alabama’s 36th-ranked Ashley Bentley, the No. 6 seed in the tournament.
Also earning a win on the day for the Yellow Jackets was sophomore Whitney McCray, who defeated Alabama’s Natalie McElveen, 6-4, 6-4, in the first round, but then fell to Miami’s 106th-ranked Patricia Starzyk, the No. 16 seed, 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-4 in the second round.
Tech’s Kacie Anson suffered a first-round loss to UCF’s Elvi Serrot, 2-6, 6-2, 6-0, but will play in the first round of consolations Friday against Miami’s Aubrey Banada.
The Yellow Jackets will return to tournament action Friday, when they play the first two rounds of doubles before completing the first round of the consolation singles draw and the Round of 16 in the main draw. Results for all Georgia Tech competitors will be posted at the conclusion of Friday’s play on www.ramblinwreck.com.
2005 ITA South Region Championships
Dan Magill Tennis Center, Athens, Ga.
Round of 64, Bracket “A”
No. 3 Kristi Miller (GT) d. Irina Pljusznyin (Auburn), 6-0, 6-0
No. 14 Kelly Anderson (GT) d. Ania Rynarzewska (FSU), 6-4, 6-4
No. 15 Tarryn Rudman (GT) d. Tsitsi Masviba (Troy), 3-6, 6-2, 6-0
Lyndsay Shosho (GT) d. No. 7 Neyssa Etienne (USF), 6-1, 6-1
Whitney McCray (GT) d. Natalie McElveen (Alabama), 6-4, 6-4
Christy Striplin (GT) d. Iciri Rai (USF), 6-2, 6-4
Elvi Serrot (UCF) d. Kacie Anson (GT), 2-6, 6-2, 6-0
Round of 32, Bracket “A”
No. 3 Kristi Miller (GT) d. Shelley Godwin (Alabama), 6-0, 6-2
No. 14 Kelly Anderson (GT) d. Mari Muller (Alabama), 6-1, 6-3
No. 15 Tarryn Rudman (GT) d. Nisha Maier-Knapp (UAB), 6-1, 5-7, 6-2
Lyndsay Shosho (GT) d. Olga Ruislova (BCC), 6-0, 6-1
Christy Striplin (GT) d. No. 9 Emily Mowery (Miami), 6-1, 6-0
No. 16 Patricia Starzyk (Miami) d. Whitney McCray (GT), 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-4
