THE FLATS – Georgia Tech women’s tennis recognized senior Gia Cohen prior to the final regular season match of the season and battled against No. 8 Virginia, but couldn’t hold on, falling 5-2 on Sunday. The loss moved Tech to 13-9 overall and 8-5 in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
DOUBLES
The doubles point came down to the final court as Georgia Tech and Virginia traded the first two matches. Representing on her senior day, Gia Cohen and teammate Ruth Marsh concluded first on court three, collecting a 6-2 decision over Amber O’Dell and Elaine Chervinsky. The Jackets won an early break to take a 2-1 lead and pushed their advantage out to 5-1 before sealing the victory, 6-2. But Virginia evened the doubles field with a 6-2 decision on court one.
It was over an hour battle on court two for the doubles point as Kylie Bilchev and Ava Hrastar took a 4-2 lead over Sofia Munera and Natasha Subhash, but the Cavaliers rallied back to 4-all. Trading the next four points, the teams played into a tiebreak where Bilchev and Hrastar gained a 6-2 lead. Virginia fought off several match points, winning eight of the next 10 points to win the tiebreaker, 10-8, and clinch the doubles point for Virginia.
SINGLES
Virginia took court six to add a point early in singles before Hrastar put the Jackets on the scoreboard from court three. Facing Elaine Chervinsky, Hrastar grabbed an early lead in the opening set and never looked back, taking the opener, 6-3. She carried momentum into the second set with a 4-1 advantage and sealed the victory with a 6-2 second set.
Mahak Jain tied the match at 2-all with a straight-set decision on court four. Jain cruised in the first set against Munera, not dropping a game to win 6-0. But Munera battled in the second set, which came down to a tiebreak. Jain won the first three points and pushed her lead out to 5-2 in the breaker. She sealed the tiebreak, 7-3, to pocket the match 6-0, 7-6 (3).
Emma Navarro returned the final lead to the Cavaliers from the top court. The top-ranked singles player in the country, Navarro rallied from a 2-0 deficit against Carol Lee in the first set to win, 6-4. She led 5-1 in the second set before Lee took the next two games. Lee’s rally came up short, 6-3.
Virginia took the final two matches to account for the final 5-2 tally, despite valiant efforts from the Yellow Jackets. The match was clinched on court two where Subhash grinded out a three-set win over Bilchev, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, and minutes later, the Cavaliers took court five in three sets. Hibah Shaikh and Cohen split the first two sets to force a deciding third set as Shaikh came out with a 4-0 advantage. But Cohen rallied back, winning the next five games to take a 5-4 lead. Cohen couldn’t hold on, though, as Shaikh took the final set, 7-5, to conclude play.
UP NEXT
Georgia Tech heads to Rome, Ga., for the 2022 ACC Women’s Tennis Championship, which runs April 20-24.
RESULTS
DOUBLES
1. No. 11 Emma Navarro/Hibah Shaikh (UVA) def. No. 5 Carol Lee/Kate Sharabura (GT) 6-2
2. Sofia Munera/Natasha Subhash (UVA) def. No. 34 Ava Hrastar/Kylie Bilchev (GT) 7-6 (10-8)
3. Gia Cohen/Ruth Marsh (GT) def. Amber O’Dell/Elaine Chervinsky (UVA) 6-2
Order of finish: 3,1,2
SINGLES
1. No. 1 Emma Navarro (UVA) def. No. 32 Carol Lee (GT) 6-4, 6-3
2. No. 34 Natasha Subhash (UVA) def. No. 79 Kylie Bilchev (GT) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
3. Ava Hrastar (GT) def. No. 62 Elaine Chervinsky (UVA) 6-3, 6-2
4. Mahak Jain (GT) def. Sofia Munera (UVA) 6-0, 7-6 (7-3)
5. Hibah Shaikh (UVA) def. Gia Cohen (GT) 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
6. Sara Ziodato (UVA) def. Rosie Garcia Gross (GT) 6-2, 6-1
Order of finish: 6,3,4,1,2,5
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
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