Feb. 25, 2011
ATLANTA – The 15th-ranked Georgia Tech women’s tennis team (5-3) will open Atlantic Coast Conference play against the 20th-ranked Florida State Seminoles (3-2, 0-1 ACC) on Saturday at noon at the Bill Moore Tennis Center on the Tech campus.
Fans are encouraged to wear gold as the Yellow Jackets host a Gold Out against the Seminoles and admission is free for all fans.
“We are looking forward to the start of the ACC season,” head coach Bryan Shelton said. “We are in the strongest conference in the nation, which means we will be playing great matches every week. Florida State will certainly be a challenge that we are looking forward to. The national indoor tournament undoubtedly helped us prepare and we’re ready to get back on the court.”
Senior Sasha Krupina, and juniors Caroline Lilley and Lynn Blau each have six wins in singles play this year for Tech. The Jackets No. 2 doubles team of Viet Ha Ngo and Jillian O’Neill sports an 8-2 overall record and a 6-1 mark in dual play this year.
The Jackets have faced ranked opponents in all eight of their matches this season and are coming off a 4-2 win over No. 18 Washington in both teams’ final match at the ITA National Indoor Championship on Feb. 20, in Charlottesville, Va.
The Seminoles have been off since dropping a 6-1 decision to 10th ranked Miami Feb. 13, in Coral Gables, Fla., in their ACC opener.
The Jackets and Seminoles have both faced Washington and Auburn in dual play this season. In addition to the 4-2 win over UW, Tech beat Auburn 7-0 in Atlanta on Feb. 13. The Seminoles fell to Washington, 4-3, Jan. 30, in Tallahassee, but beat Auburn 6-1 at home on Feb. 11.
Florida State holds a 17-9 edge in the all-time series against Georgia Tech, but the Yellow Jackets have won seven of the past nine meetings with FSU. However, the two have not faced each other since the No. 17 Seminoles claimed a 4-3 win over the No.7 Yellow Jackets in the quarterfinals of the 2009 ACC Tournament.
Last year’s match with FSU was postponed due to rain and never made up.
Saturday’s match is the fourth match of eight consecutive duals against Top 20 ranked teams, including contests with three ACC rivals.
“We’re ranked 15th in the nation right now and we’re the sixth highest ranked ACC team,” Shelton added. “It just shows how deep and talented our league is, and that we have to come ready to compete every day. The ACC is very impressive.”
Live stats will be available through RamblinWreck.com and fans can follow Tech tennis on Twitter, @GT_WTEN, for instant updates.
— RamblinWreck.com —
