Jan. 23, 2016
Final Stats | GT Photo Gallery
THE FLATS – Senior Megan Kurey needed a third-set tiebreaker, but the thriller was the clincher Saturday to give the 24th-ranked Georgia Tech women’s tennis team a 4-1 win against No. 46 William & Mary. The first of four ITA Kickoff matches at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex, the Yellow Jackets improved to 2-0 on the spring season, while handing the Tribe its first loss of the season.
Georgia Tech will face No. 21 LSU at 2 p.m. Sunday in the championship match. William & Mary will face DePaul at 10 a.m.
“It was a tough match. William & Mary played really well,” head coach Rodney Harmon said. “I thought we played well in doubles and we got off to a good start. To be honest, I thought Kendal (Woodard) really came through the biggest for us because she won a point that got on the board very fast.
“Then, Rasheeda (McAdoo) got the third point on (William & Mary) and then we were trying to hold on. When Alexa (Anton-Ohlmeyer) got up in the third and Megan started to get going, I thought we were in pretty good shape, but William & Mary kept fighting.”
On the doubles side, Kurey and Alexa Anton-Ohlmeyer defeated William & Mary’s Marie Faure and Olivia Thaler by a 6-2 decision. Minutes later, the 35th-ranked doubles duo of Kendal Woodard and Paige Hourigan knocked off Elizaveta Nemchinov and Cecily Wuenscher by an identical 6-2 score.
In singles, the Tribe pressured the Jackets in nearly every match from start to finish. William & Mary’s Nemchinov, ranked 91st nationally, knocked off Hourigan in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 at the No. 1 spot. Less than a minute later, Woodard, playing at the No. 4 spot, quickly dispatched Maria Groener 6-3, 6-4 to put the Jackets back in the lead.
“It’s always a fight to the finish line,” Harmon said. “It was just a really great match. The score may have been 4-1, but it was a lot closer than 4-1.”
Rasheeda McAdoo extended Tech’s lead to 3-1 after a 7-6, 6-2 win against Faure on court three. From there, all eyes moved to courts five and six as Anton-Ohlmeyer and Kurey rallied to force decisive third sets. With Anton-Ohlmeyer leading 5-2 in her third set, Kurey was in the middle of a heated tiebreak, which she won 7-3 to clinch a 4-1 victory for the Jackets.
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#24 GEORGIA TECH 4, #46 WILLIAM & MARY 1
Singles (Order of finish: 1, 4, 3, 6)
#91 Elizaveta Nemchinov (WM) def. Paige Hourigan (GT) 6-3, 6-4
Lauren Goodman (WM) vs. Johnnise Renaud (GT) – 6-4, 6-7, 2-0 DNF
#92 Rasheeda McAdoo (GT) Marie Faure (WM) 7-6, 6-2
Kendal Woodard (GT) Maria Groener (WM) 6-3, 6-4
Alexa Anton-Ohlmeyer (GT) Julia Casselbury (WM) – 1-6, 6-4, 5-2
Megan Kurey (GT) Olivia Thaler (WM) 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3)
Doubles (Order of finish: 3, 1)
#35 Kendal Woodard / Paige Hourigan (GT) E. Nemchinov / Cecily Wuenscher (WM) 6-2
Rasheeda McAdoo / Johnnise Renaud (GT) Lauren Goodman / Maria Groener – 4-3 DNF
Megan Kurey / Alexa Anton-Ohlmeyer (GT) Marie Faure / Olivia Thaler (WM) 6-2
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