Feb. 3, 2012
Atlanta – The 13th-ranked Georgia Tech women’s tennis team improved to 4-1 on the season with a 5-2 win over the No. 51 Princeton Tigers (1-1) Friday afternoon at the Bill Moore Tennis Center.
The Yellow Jackets swept all three doubles matches and won four of the six singles matches against the Tigers. Tech has now won the doubles point in all five matches played this year.
Tech’s number two doubles team of Lynn Blau and Elizabeth Kilborn continued their impressive start to the season by cruising to an 8-0 win over the Tigers’ pair of Monica Chow and Katherine Flanigan. Blau and Kilborn are now 7-0 overall and 4-0 in dual match play.
“Overall, I thought we played well today,” head coach Bryan Shelton said. “I was happy with how well we came out in doubles early on. Elizabeth and Lynn continue to impress and just play really focused tennis. They’re our catalyst right now. It seems like every match they’ve done a great job of being ready to go.”
Playing from the third spot in the lineup, Viet Ha Ngo and Muriel Wacker leveled their season record at 3-3 and clinched the doubles point with an 8-2 win over Princeton’s 55th-ranked team of Katie Goepel and Rachel Saiontz.
The Jackets’ top pair of Jillian O’Neill and Alex Anghelescu also improved to 7-0 and 5-0 in dual play with a hard-fought 8-6 win over the Tigers’ 51st-ranked side of Hilary Bartlett and Lindsay Graff.
O’Neill grabbed her second win of the day with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Bartlett on court number one. Blau quickly followed with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Goepel on court five to put the Jackets within one point of the team victory.
Anghelescu cruised to a 6-1 first set win, but had to fight for a 6-3 second set win that clinched the Yellow Jacket victory. The Tigers got their first point when Saiontz knocked off Tech’s Ngo 6-3, 6-3 on court three.
“Getting the doubles point again is important; it helps us establish some momentum going into singles,” Shelton said. “In singles, we were able to get up pretty quickly on courts one and five, and also on court six. I thought those girls all did a good job of getting off to a great start and putting a lot of pressure on Princeton. Overall I felt like Princeton played really tough. They battled out there. They have some girls that really value the ball, don’t make a lot of unforced errors and pushed us to the limits in some matches. I give them a lot of credit for how well they competed today.”
Princeton added their second point of the day with a three-set battle on court two. Saiontz defeated Tech’s Kilborn, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Yellow Jacket freshman Jasmine Minor continued to show her grit with a 7-5, 7-5 win over the Tigers’ Flanigan on court four.
“I thought Jasmine hung tough,” Shelton said. “She was down in the first set, I think some set points, but she just continued to battle and showed some real mental toughness to be able to turn that first set around. Then she jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second, lost that lead, and all of a sudden is down in the second… to not give in and hang in there and keep fighting is important.
“It was also good to see Alex clinch the match today,” Shelton added. “She’s playing good tennis. She has to continue to believe in herself and stay poised out there on the court.”
The Yellow Jackets are now off until next weekend’s ITA National Indoor Team Championships, hosted by the University of Virginia at the Boar’s Head Club in Charlottesville, Va.
Fans are encouraged to follow Georgia Tech women’s tennis on Twitter, @GT_WTEN, and like the Yellow Jackets on Facebook, GTWomensTennis, for an inside look at the program.
Match Results
#13 Georgia Tech vs. #51 Princeton
Feb. 3, 2012, in Atlanta, Ga.
#13 Georgia Tech 5, #51 Princeton 2
Doubles (Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1)
1. Jillian O’Neill / Alex Anghelescu (GT) def. #51 Hilary Bartlett / Lindsay Graff (PU), 8-6
2. Lynn Blau / Elizabeth Kilborn (GT) def. Monica Chow / Katherine Flanigan (PU), 8-0
3. Muriel Wacker / Viet Ha Ngo (GT) def. #55 Katie Goepel / Rachel Saiontz (PU), 8-2
Singles (Order of Finish:
1. #45 Jillian O’Neill (GT) def. Hilary Bartlett (PU), 6-0, 6-1
2. Lindsay Graff (PU) def. Elizabeth Kilborn (GT), 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
3. Rachel Saiontz (PU) def. #106 Viet Ha Ngo (GT), 6-3, 6-3
4. Jasmine Minor (GT) def. Katherine Flanigan (PU), 7-5, 7-5
5. Lynn Blau (GT) def. Katie Goepel (PU), 6-0, 6-2
6. Alex Anghelescu (GT) def. Monica Chow (PU), 6-1, 6-3
Match Notes:
Georgia Tech 4-1, national ranking #13
Princeton 1-1, national ranking #51
— RamblinWreck.com —
