Feb. 12, 2008
ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech women’s tennis team, fresh off a championship at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Madison (Wis.), had four players named to that event’s all-tournament team.
The Yellow Jackets, who posted consecutive wins over host Wisconsin, Stanford, Georgia and Northwestern to win the title, also moved back to No. 1 in the ITA national rankings.
Senior Kristi Miller and sophomore Kirsten Flower were named all-tournament for both singles and doubles play, while the duo of freshman Noelle Hickey and junior Christy Striplin were selected for their performance at No. 3 doubles. Flower was voted the tournament’s most outstanding player.
Flower fought back to clinch the championship match over Northwestern on Sunday with a 6-4, 7-6 (5) win over No. 99 ranked Lauren Lui. Flower was 4-0 in her No. 5 singles spot and went 3-1 with Miller, her doubles partner, at No. 1 doubles. Flower has yet to drop a singles match at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships as she went 4-0 last year as a freshman.
Miller won a tough three-set match to clinch the win over No. 1 Stanford in the semifinals. She also won in the No. 1 singles spot in the quarterfinals against Georgia and went 3-1 in doubles.
The pair of Hickey and Striplin went 3-1 in No. 3 doubles to help Tech earn the doubles point in three out of its four matches. They are 6-1 as partners in dual match play this season.
This is the first time that the ITA has named an All-Tournament Team for the team indoor championships. Voters for the team included participating coaches, the ITA National Ranking & Tournament Committee and select media covering the championships.
Georgia Tech’s win over Northwestern in the championship makes it only the fourth team to repeat as champions in the 21 years that the ITA has held the event.
— by Daniel Apple
ITA National Women’s Team Indoor Championships All-Tournament Team
Singles
No. 1 – Kristi Miller, Georgia Tech
No. 2 – Georgia Rose, Northwestern
No. 3 – Michaela Kissell, Miami (Fla.)
No. 4 – Celia Durkin, Stanford
No. 5 – Kirsten Flower, Georgia Tech
No. 6 – Suzie Matzenauer, Northwestern
Doubles
No. 1 – Kirsten Flower and Kristi Miller, Georgia Tech
No. 2 – Whitney Deason and Jessica Nguyen, Stanford
No. 3 – Noelle Hickey and Christy Striplin, Georgia Tech
