AUBURN, Ala. – Behind the doubles point and three singles victories, Georgia Tech women’s tennis defeated Memphis, 4-1, to advance to second-round action of the NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon. The Yellow Jackets secured a spot in the second round for the 21st time in program history.
DOUBLES
Georgia Tech (15-10) fought off a feisty Memphis (20-7) team to take the doubles point and 1-0 match lead. Court two finished first, giving the Yellow Jackets the edge in play. After trailing 2-1, No. 36 Ava Hrastar and Kylie Bilchev responded winning the next two games for a 3-2 advantage against Alisha Reayer and Camila Soares. Tech pushed its lead out to 5-3 and Hrastar served out the win, 6-3.
Memphis held leads on courts one and three, but Tech rallied back. Competing on court three, Gia Cohen and Ruth Marsh held a 3-0 lead against Emily Meyer and Monique Woog, but the Tigers won the next three games to move back on serve at 3-3. Knotted at 4-all, Memphis won the next game to grab a 5-4 lead. But it was short-lived as Cohen and Marsh rallied back to 5-all and won the next two games to clinch the doubles point with a 7-5 victory.
On court one, Tech’s No. 4 doubles team of Carol Lee and Kate Sharabura fought off three match points against Aran Teixido Garcia and Camila Romero to move to 5-all and took a 6-5 lead before the match was suspended.
SINGLES
Mahak Jain came out and made quick work of Meyer on court four to push Tech’s lead out to 2-0. Jain grabbed the first set, 6-1, and led 5-0 in the second set before closing out the win at 6-2.
Bilchev cushioned Tech’s lead on court three, grabbing a straight-set decision over Reayer. Bilchev blanked the Tiger in the first set, 6-0, and came out with a 3-1 lead in the second set. The freshman pocketed the win, 6-0, 6-1, to give the Jackets a 3-0 match lead.
Memphis got on the scoreboard with a win on court five, but senior Gia Cohen sealed the victory for Georgia Tech on court six. Facing Woog, the opponents battled back-and-forth in the first set. Cohen trailed early in the opener, but rallied back to force a tiebreak at 6-all. Woog looked in control of the breaker, opening with a 6-1 lead, but Cohen fought back and took the tiebreak, 9-7, to gain the set advantage. Woog came out with a 4-3 edge in the second set before Cohen won the next three games to clinch the match for Georgia Tech, 7-6 (9-7), 6-3.
UP NEXT
The Yellow Jackets advanced to the second-round with the win and will face host No. 14 Auburn on Saturday at 1 p.m. EST at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
RESULTS
DOUBLES
1. No. 4 Carol Lee/Kate Sharabura (GT) vs. Aran Teixido Garcia/Camila Romero (MEM) 6-5, DNF
2. No. 36 Ava Hrastar/Kylie Bilchev (GT) def. Alisha Reayer/Camila Soares (MEM) 6-3
3. Gia Cohen/Ruth Marsh (GT) def. Emily Meyer/Monique Woog (MEM) 7-5
Order of finish: 2,3
SINGLES
1. No. 22 Carol Lee (GT) vs. Aran Teixido Garcia (MEM) 6-2, 6-6, DNF
2. Ava Hrastar (GT) vs. Camila Romero (MEM) 4-6, 5-5, DNF
3. No. 90 Kylie Bilchev (GT) def. Alisha Reayer (MEM) 6-0, 6-1
4. Mahak Jain (GT) def. Emily Meyer (MEM) 6-1, 6-2
5. Camila Soares (MEM) def. Rosie Garcia Gross (GT) 6-3, 6-4
6. Gia Cohen (GT) vs. Monique Woog (MEM) 7-6 (9-7), 6-4
Order of finish: 4,2,5,6
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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