April 3, 2011
ATLANTA – The 11th ranked Georgia Tech women’s tennis team (11-6, 4-3 ACC) began play against No. 39 Boston College (7-10, 2-4 ACC) needing to bounce back after suffering a tough loss on Friday.
The Yellow Jackets did exactly that as they dismantled the Eagles 7-0 on Sunday to win their fourth match in the last five.
“This is exactly the type of day we were looking for today,” head coach Bryan Shelton said. “We wanted to see how we would respond after losing to Maryland on Friday. It was nice for our team to come out, and bring an energy and competitiveness. It’s easy after you lose a tough match to feel sorry for yourself. There’s just no time, or opponent, where we can go out there and feel sorry for ourselves. I was glad to see our team rise to the occasion and come out ready to play today.”
Knowing how important the doubles point is, especially after dropping it on Friday, Georgia Tech earned the early advantage over the Eagles by winning the doubles point for the 11th time this season.
The Eagles landed the first shot with a win on court two doubles, but the Yellow Jackets’ number one team of Caroline Lilley and Jillian O’Neill quickly evened the score with an 8-5 win. Shelton made a slight lineup change and went with the tandem of freshman Muriel Wacker and senior Sasha Krupina in the third spot of the lineup. The move paid off as the pair earned an 8-4 win to give Georgia Tech the doubles point and an early 1-0 lead.
Elizabeth Kilborn made quick work of Boston College’s Olga Khmylev 6-2, 6-3 on court five to extend Tech’s lead to 2-0. Junior Lynn Blau followed shortly with a 6-2, 6-4 win on court four over Boston College’s Veronica Corning.
Junior Jillian O’Neill battled back after losing her first set 6-3, to win 12 of the next 13 games and sets two and three, 6-0, 6-1. O’Neill’s three-set victory clinched the Yellow Jacket win. Junior Viet Ha Ngo bounced back from a rough outing against Maryland on Friday to beat BC’s Katarina Gajic, 6-3, 6-4, on court three.
Lilley showed the same resiliency has her doubles teammate against Boston College and bounced back after losing the first set, 6-4, to win the second set, 6-0, and the tiebreak 10-4. Freshman Muriel Wacker, playing for the first time since Feb. 20, completed the Tech sweep with a 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (10-6) win over Boston College’s Katharine Attwell on court six.
“We’re going to face some adversity in every match,” Shelton said. “It’s what do we do when we face it. Can we get some momentum going again after it’s gone against us. Those are the type of things as a coach you feel good about it, that you can make adjustments, you can change your emotional state, you can change your tactics out on the court, and you can raise your level of play and continue to play better as the match goes along. I thought we did a great job of that today.”
The Yellow Jackets will be back in action next weekend for a pair of crucial ACC matches. Tech will face No. 3 North Carolina on Saturday, April 9, at noon in Chapel Hill, before making the short trip to play fourth-ranked Duke on Sunday, April 10, at noon in Durham.
Fans can follow Tech tennis on Twitter, @GT_WTEN, for instant updates and live scoring will be available through RamblinWreck.com.
Match Results
Boston College at Georgia Tech
April 3, 2011 in Atlanta, Ga.
#11 Georgia Tech 7, #39 Boston College 0
Singles competition:
1. #46 Jillian O’Neill (GT) def. Alex Kelleher (BC), 3-6, 6-0, 6-1
2. #89 Caroline Lilley (GT) def. Erina Kikuchi (BC), 4-6, 6-0, 1-0 (10-4)
3. #86 Viet Ha Ngo (GT) def. #113 Katarina Gajic (BC), 6-3, 6-4
4. Lynn Blau (GT) def. Veronica Corning (BC), 6-2, 6-4
5. Elizabeth Kilborn (GT) def. Olga Khmylev (BC), 6-2, 6-3
6. Muriel Wacker (GT) def. Katharine Attwell (BC), 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (10-6)
Doubles competition:
1. Caroline Lilley/Jillian O’Neill (GT) def. Erina Kikuchi/Veronica Corning (BC), 8-4
2. Olga Khmylev/Alex Kelleher (BC) def. Lynn Blau/Elizabeth Kilborn (GT), 8-5
3. Muriel Wacker/Sasha Krupina (GT) def. Katharine Attwell/Katarina Gajic (BC), 8-4
Match Notes:
Georgia Tech 11-6, 4-3 ACC; National ranking #11
Boston College, 7-10, 2-4 ACC; National ranking #39
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (5,4,1,3,2,6)
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