SAN DIEGO, Calif. – After a two-hour delay due to inclement weather, Georgia Tech’s Carol Lee and Kate Sharabura took the courts at the prestigious ITA National Fall Championships for first round action on Wednesday. Lee represented the Yellow Jackets in both singles and doubles at the tournament, which is being played at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego, Calif.
Singles
In the opening round of singles action, Lee faced North Carolina’s Anika Yarlagadda. The Tar Heel came out with a strong start in the opening set, taking a 4-1 lead before Lee rallied back to knot the set at 4-all. Lee held serve in the next game to retake the lead at 5-4. Over the next three games, Yarlagadda would fight off three set points to force a tiebreak at 6-6. UNC gained control early in the breaker, winning 7-1, to take the first set.
The Atlantic Coast Conference foes played into another tiebreak to decide the second set. On serve at 4-4, Lee grabbed a 5-4 lead with a chance to serve out the set, but was broken to knot the set at 5-all. The opponents traded the next two games to force a tiebreak at 6-6. Tied at 4-4 in the breaker, Lee won the next three points to seal the set and force a deciding final third set.
It was a back-and-forth battle in the final set, leaving the opponents at a 4-4 standstill. Lee won the next two games to clinch the match with a 6-4 third set victory.
Doubles
Just over two-and-a-half hours later, Lee returned to the court with doubles partner Sharabura as the top-ranked doubles team faced Illinois’ Katherine Duong and Megan Heuser in the round of 32. Duong and Heuser gained momentum early, sweeping through the first set, 6-0, before the Jackets got on the scoreboard to start the second set. The Fighting Illini took a 4-1 lead, however, as Tech held serve to make it 4-2 before Duong and Heuser closed out the match, 6-2.
Lee and Sharabura move into the consolation bracket, while Lee will take on Pepperdine’s Savannah Broadus in the singles round of 16 on Thursday at noon.
RESULTS
Singles – Round of 32
No. 16 Carol Lee (GT) def. Anika Yarlagadda (UNC) 6-7 (1), 7-6 (4), 6-4
Doubles – Round of 32
Katherine Duong/Megan Heuser (Illinois) def. No. 1 Carol Lee/Kate Sharabura (GT) 6-0, 6-2
Competitive Drive Initiative
In a unified endeavor, Georgia Tech, the Georgia Tech Foundation, Georgia Tech athletics and the Alexander-Tharpe Fund have come together to accelerate funding for student-athlete scholarships with the launch of the Competitive Drive Initiative. The initiative kicks off with the Accelerate GT Match Program, where any new gift to the A-T Fund’s Athletic Scholarship Fund made through Dec. 31 will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Georgia Tech Foundation, up to $2.5 million. Should Accelerate GT reach its $2.5 million fundraising goal, the matching gift would result in a $5 million impact for Georgia Tech athletics. To learn more and to contribute online, visit atfund.org/accelerate.
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