Jan. 24, 2015
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech overcame losing the doubles point by winning all six singles matches, five of them in straight sets, and cruised to a 5-1 win Saturday night over Furman at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex.
The Yellow Jackets remained undefeated in dual matches this spring at 3-0, while the Paladins remained winless at 0-5.
Sophomore Cole Fiegel set the tone for Tech on court 6, squashing Juan Sheppard, 6-0, 6-1, in 45 minutes to even the match. Freshman Christopher Eubanks quickly followed by finishing off Matt Browne, 6-3, 6-4, on court 2, and sophomore Carlos Benito took down Jacob Behal, 6-4, 6-0, on court 5. All three players remained undefeated in dual matches this spring.
Eduardo Segura, a senior from Madrid, Spain, earned the clinching point for Tech with a 6-4, 6-4 triumph over Ben Horst on court 3, improving his team-best singles record this year to 17-6. Michael Kay, another freshman, made it 5-1 after his 7-6, 6-1 win over Cameron Green in court 4.
The only match that went three sets was court 1, where Nathan Rakitt, ranked 49th in the nation, outlasted Adam Steryous, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
“I was proud of how they stayed composed after losing the doubles point,” said Tech coach Kenny Thorne. “Furman is good, well-coached. Michael Kay did a great job against a really tough player today, broke him down. Nathan beat a very good player who was ranked last year. He needed to play a good match and get that win.”
The Paladins won the doubles point after their top team of Browne and Horst outlasted Benito and Segura in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (5), on court 1. Furman’s No. 2 team of Steryous and Green had defeated the Jackets’ Eubanks and Kay, 6-4. Rakitt and Fiegel defeated Behal and Stefan Rhodes, 6-0, in 17 minutes on court 3.
The Yellow Jackets are back in action next Saturday, Jan. 31, for a double-header at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex. Tech will face Stetson at 12 noon and Tennessee Tech at 5:30 p.m.
Georgia Tech 6, Furman 1
Jan 25, 2014 at Atlanta, Ga. (Ken Byers Tennis Complex)
Singles competition
1. #49 Nathan Rakitt (GT) def. Adam Steryous (FUR) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
2. Christopher Eubanks (GT) def. Matt Browne (FUR) 6-3, 6-4
3. Eduardo Segura (GT) def. Ben Horst (FUR) 6-4, 6-4
4. Michael Kay (GT) def. Cameron Green (FUR) 7-6, 6-1
5. Carlos Benito (GT) def. Jacob Behal (FUR) 6-4, 6-0
6. Cole Fiegel (GT) def. Juan Sheppard (FUR) 6-0, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Matt Browne/Ben Horst (FUR) def. Carlos Benito/Eduardo Segura (GT) 7-6 (7-5)
2. Adam Steryous/Cameron Green (FUR) def. Christopher Eubanks/Michael Kay (GT) 6-4
3. Cole Fiegel/Nathan Rakitt (GT) def. Jacob Behal/Stefan Rhodes (FUR) 6-0
Match Notes:
Furman 0-5; Georgia Tech 3-0
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,2,5,3,4,1)
Match played indoors
.@rakittman exults after his winning serve to close out Steryous, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 pic.twitter.com/FSxBLlcS7a
— GT Men’s Tennis (@GT_MTEN) January 25, 2015
