Jan. 23, 2016
Los Angeles, Calif. – Georgia Tech’s Casey and Michael Kay upset the No. 8 doubles team in the country, and Christopher Eubanks remained undefeated in singles as 42nd-ranked Georgia Tech shut out No. 46 New Mexico, 4-0, Friday in the opening round of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend, hosted by UCLA in Los Angeles, Calif.
Tech (3-0) will face No. 12 UCLA (2-0), a 4-0 winner Saturday over No. 62 SMU (0-0), at 4 p.m. Eastern time Sunday. The Lobos (1-6) will meet the loser of that match earlier in the day.
Tech got on top by taking the doubles point, with its top team of Casey and Michael Kay, ranked 36th in the nation, upsetting eighth-ranked Hayden Sabatka and Bart Van Leijsen, 6-3. They improved to 11-4 this year and are 3-0 in spring matches. Christopher Eubanks and Cole Fiegel secured the clinching point for the Jackets by taking down Agustus Ge and Rodolfo Jauregui, 6-3, at No. 2.
The Jackets carried their momentum forward by winning the first set in four of the six singles matches. Freshman Andrew Li was the first to strike, winning his third straight dual match, 6-2, 6-0 over the Lobos’ Jauregui at No. 4, to get the first singles point for the Yellow Jackets. Eubanks improved to 5-0 this spring with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Sabatka at No. 1, boosting the Jackets’ lead to 3-0. Carlos Benito clinch the match for Tech at No. 2 with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Van Leijsen at No. 2.
The team that wins twice this weekend advances to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, Feb. 11-15, in Chicago, Ill.
HEAD COACH Kenny Thorne SAYS – “We started well with the Kays and Banks and Cole playing well in doubles. We can still play better doubles consolidating service breaks with holding our own serve better. We started well in singles winning four of six first sets. We had a few areas in singles that need improving. More about managing the matches strategically better. Our team fights hard but we need to go about the process of keeping good purpose throughout each match. We have a great opportunity to do that against UCLA tomorrow.”
#42 Georgia Tech 4, #62 New Mexico 0
Jan 23, 2016 at Los Angeles, CA
(Los Angeles Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #6 Christopher Eubanks (GT) def. Hayden Sabatka (NM) 6-3, 6-4
2. Carlos Benito (GT) def. Bart Van Leijsen (NM) 6-4, 6-3
3. Michael Kay (GT) vs. Jorge Escutia (NM) 4-6, 2-4, unfinished
4. Andrew Li (GT) def. Rodolfo Jauregui (NM) 6-2, 6-0
5. Nathan Rakitt (GT) vs. Agustus Ge (NM) 3-6, 2-3, unfinished
6. Cole Fiegel (GT) vs. Ricky Hernandez-Tong (NM) 6-3, 3-4, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #36 Casey Kay/Michael Kay (GT) def. #8 Hayden Sabatka/Bart Van Leijsen (NM) 6-3
2. Christopher Eubanks/Cole Fiegel (GT) def. Agustus Ge/Rodolfo Jauregui (NM) 6-3
3. Andrew Li/Nathan Rakitt (GT) vs. Jorge Escutia/Ricky Hernandez-Tong (NM) 3-5, unfinished
Match Notes:
New Mexico 1-5; National ranking #62
Georgia Tech 2-0; National ranking #42
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (4,1,2)
