CARY, N.C. – Georgia Tech women’s tennis dropped a hard-fought match to No. 4 Duke in the ACC Championship quarterfinals on Friday afternoon, 4-1. The loss dropped the Yellow Jackets to 13-11 on the season.
DOUBLES
In a hard-fought doubles point, Duke took the early lead with a pair of wins on courts three and one. Court three finished first as Emma Jackson and Liv Hovde jumped out with a 5-0 advantage over Taly Licht and Given Roach. The Yellow Jackets took the next game, but Duke served out the win, 6-1.
Alejandra Cruz and Kate Sharabura evened the doubles field with a victory on court two as the Jackets upended Shavit Kimchi and Ava Krug. The foes remained on serve at 3-3 before the Yellow Jackets won the next three games to take the match, 6-3, forcing all eyes to turn to court one for the deciding match.
Duke’s Elizabeth Coleman and Irina Balus went up a break with a 3-1 lead over Kylie Bilchev and Scarlett Nicholson on court one and extended their lead to 4-2. The Blue Devils clinched the doubles point with a 6-2 decision, giving Duke a 1-0 lead entering singles play.
SINGLES
Licht put the Yellow Jackets on the scoreboard with a straight-set win from court five to even the match at 1-all to open singles play. Facing Kimchi, Licht took control of the first set, jumping out with a 3-0 advantage and took the set, 6-3. The freshman carried momentum into the second set, breaking open a 2-all standstill, winning the next four games to take the set and match, 6-3, 6-2.
Duke regained the permanent lead, taking the next two singles matches to finish on courts six and three. Coleman defeated Olivia Carneiro on court six, 6-2, 6-3, before Jackson squeaked out a 7-5, 6-4 decision over Sharabura on court three, setting up a 3-1 Duke lead.
Georgia Tech needed the final three singles matches to pull out the win, but Duke proved victorious on court two to seal the victory. Cruz took the first set, 6-4, against Balus, and was on serve in the second set at 4-all. But Balus pulled out the second set, 6-4, and captured the third set, 6-1, to clinch the match for Duke, 4-1.
The 2025 NCAA Tennis Championship selection show will take place on Monday, April 28 at 5 p.m.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. No. 17 Elizabeth Coleman/Irina Balus (DUKE) def. No. 61 Scarlett Nicholson/Kylie Bilchev (GT) 6-2*
2. Alejandra Cruz/Kate Sharabura (GT) def. Shavit Kimchi/Ava Krug (DUKE) 6-3
3. Emma Jackson/Liv Hovde (DUKE) def. Taly Licht/Given Roach (GT) 6-1
Order of finish: 3,2,1*
Singles
1. No. 23 Scarlett Nicholson (GT) vs. No. 60 Liv Hovde (DUKE) 6-7 (1-7), 6-4,3-5, DNF
2. No. 18 Irina Balus (DUKE) def. No. 88 Alejandra Cruz (GT) 4-6,6-4,6-1*
3. No. 25 Emma Jackson (DUKE) def. Kate Sharabura (GT) 7-5, 6-4
4. Given Roach (GT) vs. No. 67 Eleana Yu (DUKE) 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, DNF
5. Taly Licht (GT) def. No. 83 Shavit Kimchi (DUKE) 6-3, 6-2
6. No. 115 Elizabeth Coleman (DUKE) def. Olivia Carneiro (GT) 6-2,6-3
Order of finish: 5,6,3,2*
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
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