May 13, 2005
ATLANTA – Senior Dasha Potapova provided the clinching point and Georgia Tech did not drop a set in blanking Winthrop, 4-0, in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Tennis Atlanta Regional, Friday at the Bill Moore Tennis Center on the Tech campus.
The Yellow Jackets (20-3), the No. 6 national seed, advance to Saturday’s regional final, where they will face Pepperdine, a 4-1 winner of Mississippi State, for the right to move on to the NCAA Sweet 16 next week in Athens, Ga.
Playing No. 2 singles, Potapova fell behind 4-2 in her first set against Ana Paula Novaes before winning four straight games to take the set, 6-4. Then she blanked Novaes in the second set for the 6-4, 6-0 victory.
Potapova, Tech’s only senior, also won in doubles as the Jackets captured the point with wins at the first two flights to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
Potapova teamed with Lyndsay Shosho for an 8-3 victory over Novaes and Paula Takahashi at No. 2 doubles. Tech’s No. 1 doubles team of Kristi Miller and Alison Silverio defeated Jenny Andrade and Ana Maria Simanca, 8-5, to claim the point.
Miller and Silverio then provided Tech’s first two singles points. Silverio, the Most Valuable Performer in Tech’s run to the Atlantic Coast Conference title, downed Paula Takahaski at No. 4 singles, 6-1, 6-2. Then Miller, the ACC Rookie of the Year and the nation’s 12th individual, scored a straight set victory over Jenny Andrade at No. 1 singles, 6-2, 6-1, before Potapova finished the sweep.
“I was pleased with the way we played today,” said Tech head coach Bryan Shelton, who has led his Yellow Jackets to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth straight year. “After a couple of weeks off and final exams, you worry that you might have lost a little momentum. I was pleased with our intensity on the court and how willing we were to stay in the points. Overall, I thought it was a really good day.”
Winthrop, champions of the Big South Conference, finishes the season with a record of 21-4.
Saturday’s regional final is scheduled for 11 a.m. at the Bill Moore Tennis Center. Tickets are available at the door.
Georgia Tech 4, Winthrop 0
Singles competition:
1. Kristi Miller (GT) def. Jenny Andrade (WU) 6-2, 6-1
2. Dasha Potapova (GT) def. Ana Paula Novaes (WU) 6-4, 6-0
3. Kelly Anderson (GT) vs. Danielle Moita (WU) DNF
4. Alison Silverio (GT) def. Paula Takahashi (WU) 6-1, 6-2
5. Renata Caceres (WU) vs. Lyndsay Shosho (GT) DNF
6. Kacie Anson (GT) vs. Ana Maria Simanca (WU) DNF
Doubles competition:
1. Kristi Miller/Alison Silverio (GT) def. Jenny Andrade/Ana Maria Simanca (WU) 8-5
2. Dasha Potapova/Lyndsay Shosho (GT) def. Ana Paula Novaes/Paula Takahashi (WU) 8-3
3. Danielle Moita/Renata Caceres (WU) vs. Kelly Anderson/Whitney McCray (GT) DNF
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (4,1,2)
