May 14, 2010
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Georgia Tech Quotes
Head coach Bryan Shelton:
“I thought we came out ready to play today. I was happy to see us start so well in the doubles, with a good focus. We’re excited about the postseason. We had a good run at the ACC tournament, and we want to keep that going, so it was nice to get on the board today early and to finish it out with Hillary (Davis)’ win at No. 6 singles.”
On senior Amanda McDowell’s return to number-two doubles
” She’s a senior, so she wants to finish this thing out on the courts, so it was good to see her out, and not only was she out there, but she played really well. It was nice to see her and Lynn [Blau] finish at the end and get it done and clinch the doubles point for us.”
On No. 5 Elizabeth Kilborn, who won her match 6-0, 6-0
“She’s just been a buzz saw the second half of the season, playing with a lot of confidence, and she can hurt you a lot of different ways, with her serve, with her forehand, and now she can finish at the net. It’s fun to see her develop and continue to get better each day.”
On Austin Peay
“I was impressed. We hadn’t seen them before, but obviously a well-coached team. They looked like a veteran team that was very composed out here on the court. I was impressed. I thought they have a lot of talent on their team. They had a couple of nice lefties that presented some problems for us. They played very composed, so it was a good test for us and certainly good preparation for tomorrow’s match.”
Austin Peay Quotes
Head Coach Malik Tabet
“I thought we did a pretty good job for a team that hasn’t made it to the postseason for such a long time. I’m very, very happy. I think we didn’t look too choppy out there. We gave a good match. I was a little disappointed. We had a lot of opportunities to close down some games. We just really did not make the shots that we needed and keep our composure. But as an overall, I’m very happy with the way things turned out for us. I really feel like we gave a good match to Georgia Tech. It’s a good experience for the returning players, but also it’s a good experience for the kids who are leaving to at least have seen it once in their careers.”
Ole Miss Quotes
Head coach Mark Beyers, Ole Miss:
“I think there was a little bit of rust. There were almost three weeks in between the SEC’s and the NCAA tournament. When you play a team as good as UC Irvine, you can’t have that really. After a tough start in doubles, we were able to get off to a good start in singles and win five first sets. They tested us. They won the second set at two and were hanging in there in some of these other matches. I’m proud of the girls for battling through some of that rust and coming away with a victory. Once you put those first sets on the board, I think it’s kind of a body blow there to them. At the same, though, they kept fighting, and they didn’t roll over and give it to us. They kept working and kept fighting, but you have to be so perfect when we were able to win the doubles point and then five first sets.”
Gabby Rangel, Ole Miss:
On Clinching the match for Ole Miss
“I mean, you always know what’s going on. You keep looking at the scores, and there’s always that extra–you get a little bit more nervous. But I was just trying to focus in my match and just play well and keep on doing whatever I was doing just to win my match.
“I thought we did very well. They were a very good team, and we haven’t seen them at all. They’re from California, so we had no idea, but we knew it was going to be a tough match. I thought that everyone was challenged, and we really kept focused and did what we had to do to win.”
UC Irvine Quotes
Head coach Mike Edles, UC Irvine:
“We just had a fabulous year, and this is not how we wanted to end it. We really came to beat Mississippi today. Hats off to them, they’re a very strong team, all the way through, doubles and singles, one through six.
“We’ve had a great year, considering how we were kind of late in the season. We sort of just put it all together to win our conference as a No. 3 seed and make it here. But we weren’t just happy to be here. We really wanted to do some damage and advance in the tournament, but Mississippi was just too tough today. I think we have so many positives to take from this. We’re a young team. We graduate no one, so we have no seniors, and our players all have really good team attitudes, so I think the future looks bright.”
