STARKVILLE, Miss. – The 12th-ranked Georgia Tech women’s tennis team posted a strong opening day at the Bulldog Kickoff, collecting six singles wins and a pair of doubles victories.
DOUBLES ACTION – The Jackets got the day started taking two of three doubles matches against Ole Miss. Tech’s No. 5 doubles pair of Kenya Jones and Victoria Flores opened with a 4-3 lead over Tereza Janatova and Sabina Machalova. Jones and Flores broke in the next game to grab a 5-3 advantage and served out the match for a 6-3 win. Gia Cohen and Carol Lee teamed up to face Ole Miss’ Kelsey Mize and Reka Zadori. The Rebels looked in control, grabbing a 5-3 lead, but the Jackets rallied to win the next four games and captured a 7-5 victory. Making their first appearance as Yellow Jackets, the tandem of Ava Hrastar and Ruth Marsh won break point against Lillian Gabrielsen and Elysia Pool to take a 5-2 lead. But the Rebels battled back to knot the match at 5-5 and captured the win, 7-5.
SINGLES ACTION – Five Yellow Jackets captured singles victories, including all four freshmen, in the opening session of the day against Ole Miss. Hrastar rolled past Gabrielsen, dropping only four games en route to a 6-1, 6-3 triumph to collect her first collegiate singles win. Classmate, and doubles partner on the day, Marsh also picked up a straight-set win, downing Mize, 6-3, 6-4. Competing against Zadori, Tech’s Lee stood tied with the Rebel in the early going, 2-2, but pulled away to win the opening set, 6-3. She opened the second set with a 4-2 advantage and closed out the straight-set win, 6-3.
The Jackets also pocketed a pair of three-set wins from Mahak Jain and No. 56 Flores. After splitting the first two sets, 6-2, 0-6, Jain and Pool were on serve at 2-all in the final set. Pool took a 5-4 edge winning break point, but Jain held strong to take the final set, 6-4. In similar fashion, Flores trailed Janatova, 3-2, in the third set, but answered winning four-straight games to capture a three-set battle. Flores and Janatova split the first two sets, 6-3, 4-6, respectively.
Monika Dedaj rounded out Tech’s singles wins, picking up a 6-3, 6-3 win over Monique Woog of Memphis in the second session of the day.
UP NEXT – Day two of the Bulldog Kickoff features the Yellow Jackets facing host Mississippi State in doubles and singles. Action will not begin before 3 p.m.
RESULTS
DOUBLES
No. 5 Kenya Jones/Victoria Flores (GT) def. Tereza Janatova/Sabina Machalova (Ole Miss) 6-3
Lillian Gabrielsen/Elysia Pool (Ole Miss) def. Ava Hrastar/Ruth Marsh (GT) 7-5
Gia Cohen/Carol Lee (GT) def. Kelsey Mize/Reka Zadori (Ole Miss) 7-5
SINGLES
No. 39 Sabina Machalova (Ole Miss) def. No. 13 Kenya Jones (GT) 6-3, 6-4
No. 56 Victoria Flores (GT) def. Tereza Janatova (Ole Miss) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
Ava Hrastar (GT) def. Lillian Gabrielsen (Ole Miss) 6-1, 6-3
Carol Lee (GT) def. Reka Zadori (Ole Miss) 6-3, 6-3
Ruth Marsh (GT) def. Kelsey Mize (Ole Miss) 6-3, 6-4
Mahak Jain (GT) def. Elysia Pool (Ole Miss) 6-2, 0-6, 6-4
Monika Dedaj (GT) def. Monique Woog (Memphis) 6-3, 6-3
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