Feb. 21, 2008
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech’s top-ranked women’s tennis team will return to action this weekend when it plays No. 4 Georgia Saturday at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Bill Moore Tennis Center.
The match will be the Yellow Jackets’ fifth of the season against another top-10 opponent, and it marks the second time in 2008 the Yellow Jackets and Bulldogs square off on the tennis courts after Tech defeated then-No. 6 Georgia, 7-0, in the quarterfinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships two weeks ago.
“This is a big match for us,” said head coach Bryan Shelton. “We’ve obviously had a lot this year and will have several more, but right now it’s the next play for us. We’re always looking forward to that. Georgia comes in here with a solid squad and they are going to be gunning for us after our last match in Wisconsin. We played extremely well up there, and are preparing to do so again this weekend.”
The Yellow Jackets enter the weekend with seven of the eight team members ranked in the latest singles polls while two doubles squads also appear in the top-20.
Amanda McDowell, ranked fourth in the nation in singles, leads the team with 25 singles wins while four other players, sixth-ranked Kristi Miller, 19th-ranked Maya Johansson, No. 21 Whitney McCray and 30th-ranked Kirsten Flower have all notched at least 16 singles wins on the season.
The Yellow Jackets and Bulldogs will be meeting for the 20th time in history, with Georgia holding the 16-3 series lead. The Jackets have held the upper hand of late, winning three of the last four against their arch rival.
“This is certainly one of the biggest home matches that we have this year,” Shelton added, “if not the biggest. And we hope that our fans can help us fill up the stands to create a real home court atmosphere against our toughest in-state opponent.”
