URBANA, Ill. – Georgia Tech came out strong, opening a 3-0 match lead, but it all came down to the final match as Illinois rallied back at the Atkins Tennis Center. Scarlett Nicholson clinched the 4-3 road victory for the Yellow Jackets in a three-set battle as Tech improved to 4-2 on the season.
DOUBLES
Georgia Tech battled out the early lead, grabbing the doubles point with victories at the top two positions. Switching up the lineup, Taly Licht and Kate Sharabura gave the Jackets the first match of the day, rallying for a 7-5 win on court two. The pair won a break to go up 4-3 against McKenna Schaefbauer and Kasia Treiber and extended their lead to 5-3, but the Fighting Illini crawled back to 5-all. The rally was short-lived by Illinois, however, as Tech won the next two games to take the match, 7-5.
Tech clinched the doubles point from court one where Alejandra Cruz and Given Roach faced Megan Heuser and Kida Ferrari. On serve at 2-2, Cruz and Roach pushed out with a 5-2 lead and never looked back. The Fighting Illini took the next game for a 5-3 tally, but Cruz served out the win, 6-3, to seal the early lead entering singles play. Kylie Bilchev and Nicholson led 5-4 on court three when the point was clinched.
SINGLES
Within a matter of seconds of each other, the Jackets took the first two singles matches to finish, cushioning their lead to 3-0. Sharabura fought off a late rally on court four to take her match, 6-1, 6-4. The senior battled Ariel Madatali, cruising in the first set after a 1-1 standstill to win the next five games. Sharabura went up 4-2 in the second set before Madatali rallied back to 4-all, but the Jacket held strong for a 6-4 victory.
On court one, Cruz handled Schaefbauer in a pair of 6-2 sets. Cruz jumped out with an early lead in the first set, 3-1, and grabbed the opener, 6-2. The Jacket came out strong in the second set, 3-1, and extended Tech’s lead to 3-0, pocketing her match, 6-2, 6-2.
But it was a battle to the finish as Illinois took the next three matches to knot the score at 3-3. Illinois got on the scoreboard, taking court six, 6-4, 6-4, before Violeta Martinez pulled out a three-set win on court three, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Licht dropped a hard-fought match on court five, fighting off several match points to push Ferrari to the limit. The freshman responded from dropping the first set, 6-3, to dominate the second set, 6-1, and force a deciding third set. Licht trailed early, 1-3, but rallied back to 3-all. The match remained in a standstill at 5-5 before Ferrari held for a 6-5 edge. Licht fought off a pair of match points in the next game to force a tiebreak at 6-6. Ferrari squeaked out the tiebreak, 7-5, to tie the match at 3-all.
All eyes turned to court two where Nicholson was challenging Heuser in a third set. Illinois took the opening set, 7-5, but Nicholson answered by evening the match, winning the second set, 6-3. It was a back-and-forth fight in the third as Nicholson and Heuser traded games. Nicholson won a crucial deuce point to break for a 5-3 lead and served out the match, 6-3, to clinch the victory for the Yellow Jackets.
Georgia Tech is back in action on Sunday at Northwestern. First serve is slated for 1 p.m. ET in Evanston.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. No. 54 Given Roach/Alejandra Cruz (GT) def. Megan Heuser/Kida Ferrari (ILL) 6-3*
2. Taly Licht/Kate Sharabura (GT) def. McKenna Schaefbauer/Kasia Treiber (ILL) 7-5
3. Kylie Bilchev/Scarlett Nicholson (GT) vs. Violeta Martinez/Alice Xu (ILL) 5-4, DNF
Order of finish: 2,1*
Singles
1. Alejandra Cruz (GT) def. No. 109 McKenna Schaefbauer (ILL) 6-2, 6-2
2. Scarlett Nicholson (GT) vs. Megan Heuser (ILL) 5-7, 6-3, 6-3*
3. No. 111 Violeta Martinez (ILL) def. Given Roach (GT) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
4. Kate Sharabura (GT) def. Ariel Madatali (ILL) 6-1, 6-4
5. Kida Ferrari (ILL) def. Taly Licht (GT) 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (7-5)
6. Kasia Treiber (ILL) def. Olivia Carneiro (GT) 6-4, 6-4
Order of finish: 4,1,6,3,5,2*
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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