Feb. 11, 2004
ATLANTA – Lindsey Stauss and Maria Nieto remained undefeated in singles play this dual-match season as Georgia Tech (2-1) earned five singles and two doubles victories en route to a 6-1 win over visiting Middle Tennessee State (2-2) Wednesday afternoon at the Bill Moore Tennis Center.
Georgia Tech earned a 1-0 lead in the match after recording victories at the Nos. 2 and 3 doubles positions. Freshmen Alison Silverio and Stauss teamed in the third slot and downed the duo of Ana Maria Cibils and Jacqui Williams by an 8-2 score before the 31st-ranked doubles tandem in the country of Manon Kruse and Carien Venter stopped Tech’s Kelly Anderson and Sekita Grant in the No. 1 position. Nieto and Lyndsay Shosho came from behind to win the deciding doubles match at No. 2 over MTSU’s Jennifer Klaschka and Laura McNamara, 8-6, to give the Jackets the advantage heading into singles play.
“We knew coming into the match that the doubles point was going to be key,” said Tech head coach Bryan Shelton. “They are a dangerous team and have talent all over, so I thought that getting that point really set the tone for the entire match.”
The Jackets quickly took a 3-0 lead against MTSU as Silverio and Anderson recorded easy victories in the Nos .2 and 3 singles positions. Silverio downed the Lady Raiders’ Klaschka, 6-1, 6-3 at No. 2 while Anderson defeated Venter by a score of 6-0, 6-3 in the No. 3 slot.
Kruse, ranked 54th in the country in singles play, made the score 3-1 by defeating the Jackets’ Shosho, 6-4, 6-1 at No. 1 singles before Grant clinched the match for Georgia Tech by blanking MTSU’s Emily Vest, 6-0, 6-0.
Also posting victories for the Jackets were Stauss, at No. 4 over MTSU’s Laura McNamara, 6-0, 7-5, and Nieto, in the No. 5 slot over Ana Maria Cibils, 6-1, 3-6, 10-0.
“I’m really pleased with our effort,” said Shelton. “We came out in almost every match and dominated early in the first set, and we really executed well today. It was a great confidence booster for us to know that we executed so well, and now we’re looking forward to getting out there on Saturday against Iowa.”
Georgia Tech returns to action Saturday when it travels to the University of Iowa to face the 66th-ranked Hawkeyes in a match that is set to begin at 10 a.m.
Georgia Tech , Middle Tennessee State
(Doubles) No. 1 No. 33 Kruse/Venter (MTSU) d. Anderson/Grant (GT), 8-5 No. 2 Nieto/Shosho (GT) d. Klaschka/McNamara (MTSU), 8-6* No. 3 Silverio/Stauss (GT) d. Cibils/Jacqui Williams (MTSU), 8-2
(Singles) No. 1 No. 54 Manon Kruse (MTSU) d. Lyndsay Shosho (GT), 6-4, 6-1 No. 2 Alison Silverio (GT) d. Jennifer Klaschka (MTSU), 6-1, 6-3 No. 3 Kelly Anderson (GT) d. Carien Ventor (MTSU), 6-0, 6-3 No. 4 Lindsey Stauss (GT) d. Laura McNamara (MTSU), 6-0, 7-5 No. 5 Maria Nieto (GT) d. Ana Maria Cibils (MTSU), 6-1, 3-6, 10-0 No. 6 Sekita Grant (GT) d. Emily Vest (MTSU), 6-0, 6-0**
*Deciding Doubles Match **Clinched Overall Match
