April 14, 2011
ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech women’s tennis team heads into the final weekend of the 2011 regular season with a lot riding on a pair of matches against teams from Virginia. The Yellow Jackets are currently 11-8 overall and 4-5 in the ACC. Tech will face No. 52 Virginia Tech (10-12, 2-7 ACC) in a noon Saturday match and No. 17 Virginia at noon Sunday (16-6, 5-4 ACC). Both matches will be played at the Bill Moore Tennis Center and are free to the public.
On Sunday against the Cavaliers, Tech will also be making a pair of special presentations. The Yellow Jackets will celebrate Senior Day by honoring senior and team captain Sasha Krupina before the match. In between doubles and singles play, Tech will also present the 2010 Yellow Jackets with their ACC championship rings.
“I’ve got a very special place in my heart for Sasha,” head coach Bryan Shelton said. “It’s been great to see how she has developed as a student here at Georgia Tech, and just getting stronger every year, to the point where is consistently getting it done in the classroom at the highest level. To see her maturation as a tennis player and as a person develop over the last few years also. She’s more poised on the court and she has a better idea of how to play the game. If you were only here two or three years ago and you came back today to see her play, you’d see a totally different person on the court. She’s a great person, a caring person, and certainly someone who will be missed in this program.”
As the Jackets prep for next week’s ACC Tournament, they can still earn as high as a four seed, but would need some help. Currently, Tech is seventh, with Virginia, Clemson and Florida State all tied for fourth with 5-4 records. Last season, Tech was also the seventh seed at the ACC Tournament before going on to win the title.
“For us, it always comes down to preparation,” Shelton said. “We feel like in almost every match we’ve played this season, it’s only a little bit, it’s five percent, two percent difference between winning and losing. In the matches we’ve won, we’ve had a little bit more under pressure. We talked about this week with the team is greatness is being able to play your best under the most pressure, against the most adversity. For us, in order to be great, we have to prepare great. We’ve got to be really good on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday leading into weekend matches. Our team responded after the losses last weekend, and so far we’ve had some quality practices which I think will give us that edge for the weekend. It always comes down to preparation. We’re looking forward to this weekend. We have two more quality ACC teams coming in. We have a lot of respect for both programs, and know that these will both be tough matches, but we’ve got to defend our home court.
“I think for us, to rebound after last weekend against two quality opponents in Duke and UNC, and be able to come and really get after it this weekend, will help us going into the tournament,” Shelton added. “Last year, we split when we went up to Virginia and Virginia Tech, but were able to make a run at the ACC Tournament and eventually win it as the No. 7 seed. Certainly, we’d like to have a solid weekend and have a good feeling going into next week.
The Yellow Jackets lead the all-time series with Virginia Tech 9-2 and has won nine straight meetings, dating back to 1988. Virginia holds a slim 16-13 all-time advantage over Georgia Tech, but the Yellow Jackets have won 10 of the 12 meetings since Shelton became head coach in 2000.
As always, fans are encouraged to follow Tech tennis on Twitter, @GT_WTEN, for instant updates. Live scoring will be available through RamblinWreck.com.
— RamblinWreck.com —
