Nov. 7, 2010
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The 29th-ranked Georgia Tech women’s tennis pair of junior Caroline Lilley and senior Sasha Krupina earned a share of the doubles title on Sunday at the UNC-Kitty Harrison Invitational in Chapel Hill, N.C., after finishing off Minnesota’s team of Alessandra Ferrazzi and Alexa Palen, 9-7, at the Cone-Kanfield Tennis Center on the University of North Carolina campus.
The honor, which is based on a point system, was shared with Virginia’s Hana Tomljanovic and Emily Fraser.
“It was great to see Sasha and Caroline play as well as they did all weekend,” head coach Bryan Shelton said. “They are really a force to be reckoned with. Overall, our doubles teams played excellent all weekend. Lynn [Blau] and Elizabeth [Kilborn] went 3-0 as a team too. One of the things we talk about is wanting to be strong in doubles action.
“Overall, I was very pleased with the way we played all weekend,” Shelton added. “We came together as a team, maintained our composure, and really fought and competed hard. That really gives us something to build on going into the spring. Our attitude was excellent and we played poised all weekend. The team chemistry was outstanding and I think we have a lot to look forward to.”
Lilley and Krupina went 3-1 on the weekend in doubles action. On Friday, they downed Pepperdine’s Anamika Bhargava and Khunpak Issara, 8-5. Their lone blemish came on Saturday, as they dropped a tough 9-7 match to Duke’s 19th-ranked side of Nadine Fahoum and Ella Nze, but they rebounded to complete the doubles sweep of the Terrapins with an 8-1 win over UM’s Julia Huschke and Ana Belzunce.
The Yellow Jackets finished the final day with a clean sweep of the Minnesota Golden Gophers in doubles action. In addition to Lilley and Krupina’s win, junior Lynn Blau and sophomore Elizabeth Kilborn maintained their perfect weekend in doubles action with a thrilling 9-8(3) win over the Gopher’s duo of Natallia Pintusava and Magdalena Wiecha. Completing the sweep of Minnesota was the Yellow Jackets’ team of Christina Ngo and Muriel Wacker, which downed UM’s Peta Forsyth and Emilie Renault, 8-3.
In the afternoon session, the Yellow Jackets squared off in singles play against the host North Carolina Tar Heels. Tech earned an even split with the Tar Heels with wins by Lilley, Blau, and Kilborn. Lilley beat UNC’s Lauren McHale, 6-2, 7-6(8), while Blau tallied a 6-4, 6-4 win over the Tar Heels’ Jennifer Stone and Kilborn posted a 6-4, 2-6, 1-0(7) victory against UNC’s Tessa Lyons.
The Jackets are now off until Jan. 14-16, 2011, when they travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., for the Michigan Invitational to open the spring season.
Sunday’s Georgia Tech matches:
Georgia Tech vs. Minnesota Doubles:
Lilley/Krupina def. Ferrazzi/Palen, 9-7
Blau/Kilborn def. Pintusava/Wiecha 9-8(3)
Ngo/Wacker def. Forsyth/Renault, 8-3
Georgia Tech vs. North Carolina Singles:
Shinann Featherston def. Christina Ngo, 6-2, 6-1
Gina Suarez-Malaguti def. Sasha Krupina, 6-3, 6-3
Caroline Lilley def. Lauren McHale, 6-2, 7-6(8)
Lynn Blau def. Jennifer Stone, 6-4, 6-4
Elizabeth Kilborn def. Tessa Lyons, 6-4, 2-6, 1-0(7)
Laura Slater def. Rocio Alberca Lopez, 6-3, 6-1
— RamblinWreck.com —
