THE FLATS – Georgia Tech women’s tennis opened 2020 pocketing a pair of 4-0 sweeps of Kennesaw State on Saturday at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex. Four Yellow Jackets each picked up a pair of wins as Tech opened the spring schedule 2-0.
MATCH ONE: Kenya Jones and Nami Otsuka collected a pair of wins in the first match between singles and doubles. Otsuka and doubles partner Monika Dedaj handed Tech its first win of the afternoon, cruising to a 6-1 win over Elle Baker and Brenna Reilly. Jones and Victoria Flores clinched the doubles point from court one, downing Paola Cortez and Taylor Dean, 6-1, to give Tech the 1-0 lead entering singles play.
The Yellow Jackets wasted no time in singles play, pocketing three straight-set wins to clinch the match. Jones swept Cortez on court one, 6-0, 6-0, before Rosie Garcia Gross cushioned Tech’s lead from court six, defeating Reilly, 6-1, 6-2, for a 3-0 Tech advantage. Otsuka clinched the match on court four, collecting a 6-3, 6-1 triumph over Sofia Pinedo for the 4-0 Tech victory.
MATCH TWO: The teams opened the match playing singles as Tech clinched the second match with four straight-set victories. Garcia Gross put Tech on the scoreboard, dropping only two games en route to a 6-1, 6-1 win over Pinedo on court four. Cohen and Flores handed the Jackets a 3-0 lead, taking home victories from courts two and one, respectively, before freshman Monika Dedaj captured her first collegiate singles victory. The freshman clinched the match from court five, defeating Aspen Jarrett, 6-4, 6-0, to give Tech it’s second 4-0 victory of the day.
QUOTABLE: “It was good to get out and play against somebody else. I felt like our intensity and level of focus was good. Obviously we still have a lot of things to work on with so many great teams we play this year, but this was a good start for us.” – Head coach Rodney Harmon
UP NEXT: Georgia Tech travels to Furman next weekend for a pair of matches on Saturday, Jan. 18. The Yellow Jackets will face Furman at 11 a.m. and Presbyterian at 4 p.m.
RESULTS
MATCH ONE
Doubles
1-No. 51 Kenya Jones/Victoria Flores (GT) def. Paola Cortez/Taylor Dean (KSU) 6-1
2-Rosie Garcia Gross/Gia Cohen (GT) vs. Tina Vlajic/Juliana Castellanos (KSU) 5-1, DNF
3-Monika Dedaj/Nami Otsuka (GT) def. Elle Baker/Brenna Reilly (KSU) 6-1
Order of finish: 3, 1
Singles
1-No. 53 Kenya Jones (GT) def. Paola Cortez (KSU) 6-0, 6-0
2-Victoria Flores (GT) vs. Taylor Dean (KSU) 6-3, 1-0, DNF
3-No. 73 Gia Cohen (GT) vs. Tina Vlajic (KSU) 6-3, 3-1, DNF
4-Nami Otsuka (GT) def. Sofia Pinedo (KSU) 6-3, 6-1
5-Nadia Gizdova (GT) vs. Aspen Jarrett (KSU) 6-2, 0-1, DNF
6-Rosie Garcia Gross (GT) def. Brenna Reilly (KSU) 6-1, 6-2
Order of finish: 1,6,4
MATCH TWO
Singles
1-Victoria Flores (GT) def. Paola Cortez (KSU) 6-1, 6-2
2-No. 73 Gia Cohen (GT) def. Taylor Dean (KSU) 6-1, 6-3
3-Nadia Gizdova (GT) vs. Tina Vlajic (KSU) 6-1, 5-5, DNF
4-Rosie Garcia Gross (GT) def. Sofia Pinedo (KSU) 6-1, 6-1
5-Monika Dedaj (GT) vs. Aspen Jarrett (KSU) 6-4, 6-0
6-Sophia Sassloi (GT) vs. Elle Baker (KSU) 6-2, 3-4, DNF
Order of finish: 4,2,1, 5
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