April 7, 2006
ATLANTA – The 12th-ranked Georgia Tech women’s tennis team (16-3, 7-0 ACC) hits the road this weekend to play its final road matches of the regular season. The Jackets begin in Chapel Hill, playing the fifth-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels (22-4, 7-2 ACC) Saturday at 11 a.m. before continuing on the Durham to face the 14th-ranked Duke Blue Devils (13-5, 6-1 ACC) Sunday at 12 noon.
The Yellow Jackets are riding a four-match win streak headed into the weekend, and have posted a perfect 7-0 mark in conference matches in 2006. Tech is currently atop the Atlantic Coast Conference standings, while Duke stands third with a 6-1 record and UNC is fourth at 7-2. Miami (2nd, 7-1 in ACC) and Clemson (5th, 5-2 in ACC) round out the top-five in the conference standings.
Tech will be playing its third-straight road match Saturday after the Jackets recorded a pair of big wins against conference foes last weekend. The Jackets knocked off the fifth-ranked Miami Hurricanes in Coral Gables, 4-3, on Friday before recording a 5-2 victory over No. 67 Florida State in Tallahassee Sunday afternoon.
Duke and North Carolina squared off in a midweek match this Wednesday, with the Blue Devils coming from behind to earn a 4-3 win over the Tar Heels in Durham.
The Jackets are 4-22 all-time against North Carolina, but two of Tech’s four wins against the Tar Heels came last season. The Jackets defeated UNC, 5-2, in the final match of the regular season to capture the top seed in the 2005 ACC Tournament and then stopped the `Heels, 4-2, in the semifinals to advance to the first ACC Championship match in the history of the program.
Tech will be seeking its first win in the series history against the Blue Devils on Sunday, as Duke has won all 28 matches between the two schools dating back to the 1984 season. Tech’s only loss to an ACC squad in the last two seasons came against Duke in 2005, when the Jackets finished 9-1 in the regular season before earning its first ACC Championship by defeating Florida State, North Carolina and Miami.
Following this weekend’s matches, the Jackets will return home to conclude the regular season against Wake Forest and NC State next weekend. Livestats will be available for both home matches.
