THE FLATS – The No. 57 Georgia Tech men’s tennis team defeated Big 12 side Texas Tech at home, 4-2, to close out the non-conference portion of the schedule. The Jackets have now won five consecutive matches, marking the fourth straight season with a winning streak of five or more.
The Jackets came out and meant business, taking leads on all three courts in doubles play. All GT pairings got out to strong leads and weathered the late surge from the Red Raiders.
Christophe Clement and Richard Biagiotti served out their match 6-4 on Court 1 before Gianluca Carlini and Jonathan Irwanto sealed the doubles point on a double break point. Both teams earned their first career victories as pairings.
Texas Tech responded in the first set of singles play, winning four of the six opening frames. Hidde Schoenmakers didn’t echo that theme was dominant in his return to the court. After dropping his first service game, he won his remaining nine service games while breaking his opponent twice in the first set 6-4, before riding out the 6-3 second set to win his Court 2 matchup.
The Red Raiders tied the match at 2-2 after straight-set wins on Courts 2 and 5. The remaining three matches to decide the match were all going to require three sets of action. Biagiotti bounced back from a second set where he held match point and closed the third set 6-2 for his third Court 6 win.
Irwanto battled back from a first-set tiebreaker loss and dealt a pair of matching 6-3 sets to clinch the match for the Jackets. He earned his team-leading 15th win of the season and secured both clinching points this weekend after the 4-3 win over Jacksonville State on Friday evening.
GT claimed its first win over Texas Tech in the inaugural meeting between the two schools. This also marked the first win over a Big 12 side since 2011.
Georgia Tech will hit the road for the first time this season after a 10-match homestand to open the season. The Jackets will open conference play at #23 NC State on Friday at 5 p.m. before facing reigning national champion, #4 Wake Forest, on Sunday at 12 p.m. Streaming and stat links will be available at ramblinwreck.com.
#57 Georgia Tech 4, Texas Tech 2
Singles:
- Christophe Clement (GT) vs. Niksa Arsic (TTU) 3-6, 7-6 (7), 3-3, unfinished
- Hidde Schonemakers (GT) def. Tyler Stewart (TTU) 6-4, 6-3
- Ludovico Vaccari (TTU) def. Gianluca Carlini (GT) 6-3, 6-4
- Jonathan Irwanto (GT) def. Felipe Pagnacco (TTU) 6-7 (7), 6-3, 6-3
- Thiago Guglieri (TTU) def. Elias Shokry (GT) 6-4, 6-3
- Richard Biagiotti (GT) def. Sebastian Abboud (TTU) 6-3, 5-7, 6-2
Doubles:
- Christophe Clement/Richard Biagiotti (GT) def. Niksa Arsic/Thiago Guglieri (TTU) 6-4
- Gianluca Carlini/Jonathan Irwanto (GT) def. Sebastian Abboud/Felipe Pagnacco (TTU) 6-3
- Owen DeMuth/Elias Shokry (GT) vs. Tyler Stewart/Joseph Patton (TTU) 6-5, unfinished
Georgia Tech (8-2) | Texas Tech (6-4)
Order of Finish: Doubles (1, 2); Singles (2, 3, 5, 6, 4)
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
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