March 11, 2016
Louisville, Ky. – Daniel Yun, Nathan Rakitt and Cole Fiegel earned key singles wins at the bottom of the Georgia Tech lineup, lifting the No. 42 Yellow Jackets past Louisville, 5-2, in Atlantic Coast Conference men’s tennis Friday afternoon at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center.
Tech (9-4, 2-1 ACC) won its second consecutive road match despite losing the doubles point. The Yellow Jackets travel to Raleigh, N.C., face 27th-ranked NC State at noon Sunday. The Cardinals fell to 8-8 overall, 0-3 in the ACC.
Rakitt and Yun helped Tech seize the momentum in the match after the Yellow Jackets fell behind with the doubles loss, winning quickly on courts 6 and 5, respectively. Rakitt, a senior from Marietta, defeated Christian Haushammer, 6-1, 6-1, at No. 6, and Yun, a sophomore from Marietta, downed Jeffrey Brown, 6-2, 6-1, on court 5.
Fiegel extended the Jackets’ advantage to 3-1 with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Brandon Lancaster before the Cardinals would earn another point. George Hedley got by Tech freshman Andrew Li, 7-6, 6-4 to get Louisville within 3-2, which left the match in the hands of the Yellow Jackets’ top two players, sophomore Christopher Eubanks and junior Carlos Benito, who both were extended to three sets.
Benito came through first, outlasting Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff, 6-2, 6-7, 6-3, earning Tech’s clinching point for the second straight match. Eubanks, ranked 15th in the nation in singles, put the icing on the cake with a 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 for win on court 1 against Alex Gornet.
HEAD COACH Kenny Thorne SAYS – “Louisville played well in doubles, so it was good to come back and win. Nathan and Daniel did a great job of getting us ahead. Cole played tough and finished out his match to keep the momentum. Beni and Banks were very tough down the stretch playing a couple of guys that were playing very well. It was a good road win for us. On to NC State now.”
NOTABLE – Yun, a sophomore who had never played in an ACC dual match until last weekend, is 3-for-3 with his victory Friday and improved to 4-1 overall this spring … Eubanks is 10-1 in Tech’s dual matches this spring … Benito has won five of his last six matches to improve to 7-6 … Rakitt, who struggled in the fall and early this spring, is 4-0 playing in the sixth position and 5-2 this spring … Tech lost the doubles point for just the third time in 13 matches, but Benito and Eubanks won their second straight match since moving to the top spot, and are 8-1 together this spring … Li and Rakitt are 8-2 as a doubles team after Friday’s loss.
#42 Georgia Tech 5, Louisville 2
March 11, 2016 at Louisville, Ky. (Bass-Rudd Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #15 Christopher Eubanks (GT) def. Alex Gornet (UL) 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 6-4
2. Carlos Benito (GT) def. Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff (UL) 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3
3. George Hedley (UL) def. Andrew Li (GT) 7-6 (10-8), 6-4
4. Cole Fiegel (GT) def. Brandon Lancaster (UL) 6-3, 6-4
5. Daniel Yun (GT) def. Jeffrey Brown (UL) 6-2, 6-1
6. Nathan Rakitt (GT) def. Christian Haushammer (UL) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Christopher Eubanks/Carlos Benito (GT) def. Alex Gornet/Jeffrey Brown (UL) 6-3
2. C. Morin-Kougoucheff/George Hedley (UL) def. #65 Casey Kay/Michael Kay (GT) 7-5
3. Sean Donohue/Courtney Lock (UL) def. Nathan Rakitt/Andrew Li (GT) 6-4
Match Notes:
Georgia Tech 9-4, 2-1 ACC; National ranking #42
Louisville 8-8, 0-3 ACC
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (6,5,4,3,2,1)
T-2:47 A-131
