Sept. 13, 2011
ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech women’s tennis team heads into the 2011-12 season with one of its most veteran rosters in head coach Bryan Shelton’s 13 year tenure on The Flats, which is reflected in the Yellow Jackets’ preseason rankings.
Five Yellow Jackets are ranked in the Campbell/ITA Division I Women’s Tennis preseason rankings, led by senior Jillian O’Neill at No. 21. O’Neill earned an at-large bid to the 2011 NCAA Singles Championships, finished the season with a 16-12 record and ranked No. 30. O’Neill has also been selected as an alternate and will play in the qualifying singles portion of the 2011 Riviera/ITA All-American Championships to be held October 1-9 at Riviera Tennis Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif.
Fellow senior Viet Ha Ngo is ranked No. 44 in the initial poll of 2011-12. Ngo played mostly from the No. 3 spot of Tech’s lineup in 2011 and posted an 11-13 record and finished ranked No. 65. Ngo will join O’Neill in the qualifying singles portion of the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships.
Caroline Lilley, a senior who played mostly from the second spot in the Jackets’ lineup last season, is Tech’s third ranked player at No. 69. In her first season on The Flats after transferring from Kentucky, Lilley tallied a 17-7 record and finished the year ranked No. 104.
Yellow Jacket newcomer Alex Anghelescu is Shelton’s fourth ranked player at No. 81. Anghelescu posted a 21-11 record as a freshman at Georgia last year.
Tech’s fourth senior, Lynn Blau, rounds out the Jackets in the rankings at No. 124. Blau played mostly from the No. 4 position last season and tallied a 17-10 record.
After finishing last season with an 8-1 record from the No. 1 doubles position and ranked No. 15, the team of O’Neill and Lilley will begin the 2011-12 season ranked No. 6.
Georgia Tech will begin the fall season with the Georgia Tech Invitational to be held Friday through Sunday, Sept. 16-18, at the Windward Club in Alpharetta, Ga.
Anghelescu, Blau and Lilley will all participate in prequalifying at the All-American Championships, while Elizabeth Kilborn is an alternate to prequalifying.
Fans are encouraged to follow Georgia Tech women’s tennis on Twitter, @GT_WTEN, and like the Yellow Jackets on Facebook, GTWomensTennis, for an inside look at the program.
— RamblinWreck.com —
