April 7, 2005
The No. 34 Georgia Tech (10-7, 2-4 ACC) Yellow Jackets return to Atlantic Coast Conference action this weekend in two key matches playing on the road against Maryland (8-9, 0-8 ACC) and No. 21 Florida State (13-6, 4-2 ACC). Friday the Yellow Jackets will face the Terrapins at 2 p.m. at The Tennis Center at College Park in College Park, Md. while Sunday at 1 p.m. Tech will turn its attention to the Seminoles at the Scott Speicher Tennis Center in Tallahassee, Fla.
The Jackets lead the series against Maryland, 18-6, including a 7-0 win in 2004. The last time Tech fell to the to the Terrapins was a 5-4 setback in 1992.
“We certainly have had success in the past over Maryland, but every year they get better and better,” said head coach Kenny Thorne. “”They are the type team that if you play well against them, you should come out on top, but if you take them lightly, you will have a very, very hard time winning.”
Against the Seminoles, the Jackets lead the series, 27-23, including a 5-2 victory last season in Atlanta.
“Florida State is having a great year and playing very well this season,” said Thorne. “They always have a great crowd at their matches and I’m sure they will be ready to play us after the close match that we had last season on our courts.”
To date, the Jackets have been led by David North and Marko Rajevac, who each have a team-best 10 wins on the season in dual match play. In addition, Jose Luis Muguruza is ranked No. 24 in singles action in ITA Tennis poll and has eight wins during the spring season. On the doubles side, the tandem of North and Rajevac own a 11-6 record at No. 1 doubles and just entered the ITA rankings at No. 52 this week.
“With two road matches this weekend, it’s going to be a challenge for our team to stay focused the entire weekend. But, our conference race is so tight this year that every time we step out on the court and play an ACC opponent, our team realizes the importance so I’m confident that we will play our best this weekend.”
