THE FLATS – Georgia Tech women’s tennis collected a pair of sweeps over Mercer in doubleheader action on Tuesday afternoon at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex. The Yellow Jackets edged Mercer 7-0 in the first match and 4-0 in match two to conclude the doubleheader.
MATCH ONE: The Jackets swept doubles in the opener over Mercer, collecting the doubles point for the third time this season. Tech’s No. 51 duo of Kenya Jones and Victoria Flores pocketed a 6-2 victory over Maeva Roquebert and Mary Courville on court one before Nami Otsuka and Gia Cohen clinched the point from court three. The Jackets defeated Anna Sovic and Alara Hollyfield, 6-1, to give Tech the lead. The teams played out the final doubles match on court two where Monika Dedaj and Rosie Garcia Gross picked up a 6-2 win over Lauren Rich and Marie Mottet.
Tech dropped only one set in singles play, clinching the match quickly with a trio of straight-set wins. No. 53 Jones extended Tech’s lead, cruising to a 6-0, 6-0 victory on court one before Flores downed Mary Courville on court three, 6-1, 6-0, to setup a 3-0 Tech advantage. Otsuka clinched the match from court four, picking up her third dual singles win of the season, edging Lauren Rich, 6-0, 6-2.
Nadia Gizdova and Garcia Gross cushioned Tech’s lead with wins on courts six and five, respectively. Gizdova dropped only one game en route to a 6-1, 6-0 decision, while Garcia Gross won a hard-fought match over Marie Mottet, 6-1, 7-5. Tech’s final match on court two witnessed a third set tiebreak as Cohen dropped the first set to Hollyfield, but bounced back in the second, 6-3. After Cohen forced a third set tiebreak, the sophomore raced out with a 4-1 lead and cushioned her advantage at 7-2. Hollyfield rallied back to 8-6 and fought off a match point, but Cohen sealed the win, 10-7.
MATCH TWO: The Yellow Jackets took the doubles point in the second match to earn a 1-0 lead entering singles play. Cohen and Otsuka paired in doubles to cruise to a 6-0 victory on court three before Flores and Jones clinched the point on court one, 6-1.
Tech clinched the match with three singles matches kickstarted by a 6-0, 6-2 win from Garcia Gross on court three. Sophia Sassoli gave Tech a 3-0 lead from court six, defeating Sovic, 6-1, 6-2, before Nadia Gizdova clinched the match on court four. Gizdova pocketed a 6-3, 6-2 decision over Lauren Rich to seal the win for the Yellow Jackets.
“I thought today was a really good effort against a gritty Mercer team that fought hard and tried to win every point,” said head coach Rodney Harmon. “We’re playing reasonably well I think, but we’ve got to keep working before we head to Columbia, S.C. on Thursday for a tough pair of matches beginning with Wisconsin on Saturday.”
UP NEXT: Georgia Tech prepares for ITA Kick-Off Weekend, Jan. 25-26, on the campus of South Carolina. The Yellow Jackets will open the weekend facing Wisconsin on Saturday at 1 p.m. and will face either Purdue or South Carolina on Sunday.
RESULTS
MATCH ONE
Doubles
1-No. 51 Kenya Jones/Victoria Flores (GT) def. Maeva Roquebert/Mary Courville (MER) 6-2
2-Monika Dedaj/Rosie Garcia Gross (GT) def. Lauren Rich/Marie Mottet (MER) 6-2
3-Nami Otsuka/Gia Cohen (GT) def. Alara Hollyfield/Anna Sovic (MER) 6-1
Order of finish: 1,3,2
Singles
1-No. 53 Kenya Jones (GT) def. Maeva Roquebert (MER) 6-0, 6-0
2-No. 73 Gia Cohen (GT) def. Alara Hollyfield (MER) 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (10-7)
3-Victoria Flores (GT) def. Mary Courville (MER) 6-1, 6-0
4-Nami Otsuka (GT) def. Lauren Rich (MER) 6-0, 6-2
5-Rosie Garcia Gross (GT) def. Marie Mottet (MER) 6-1, 7-5
6-Nadia Gizdova (GT) def. Anna Sovic (MER) 6-1, 6-0
Order of finish: 1,3, 4, 6, 5, 2
MATCH TWO
Doubles
1-No. 51 Kenya Jones/Victoria Flores (GT) def. Marie Mottet/Lauren Rich (MER) 6-1
2- Monika Dedaj/Rosie Garcia Gross (GT) vs. Maeva Roquebert/Mary Courville (MER)
3-Nami Otsuka/Gia Cohen (GT) def. Ericka Chavarria/Sarah Huynh (MER) 6-0
Order of finish: 3,1,2
Singles
1-No. 73 Gia Cohen (GT) vs. Maeva Roquebert (MER) 1-6, 6-3, 2-1, DNF
2-Victoria Flores (GT) vs. Alara Hollyfield (MER) 6-3, 3-1, DNF
3-Rosie Garcia Gross (GT) def. Mary Courville (MER) 6-0, 6-2
4-Nadia Gizdova (GT) def. Lauren Rich (MER) 6-3, 6-2
5-Monika Dedaj (GT) vs. Marie Mottet (MER) 6-2, 3-3, DNF
6-Sophia Sassoli (GT) def. Anna Sovic (MER) 6-1, 6-2
Order of finish: 3,6,4
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