March 21, 2008
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Christy Striplin teamed with Noelle Hickey to win, 8-6, at No. 3 doubles and then clinched match point with a straight-set victory at No. 4 singles to lead No. 2 Georgia Tech (11-3, 3-0 ACC) to a 5-2 win over No. 13 North Carolina (11-5, 2-1 ACC) Friday afternoon.
After Striplin and Hickey notched their victory, 50th-ranked Whitney McCray and Sasha Krupina knocked off Austin Smith and Sophie Grabinski, 8-3, at No. 2 doubles to give Georgia Tech a 1-0 lead in the match.
McCray pushed the Yellow Jackets’ lead to 2-0 with a 6-3, 6-3 victory against 95th-ranked Smith, 6-3, 6-3, before the Tar Heels notched their first point when No. 9 Sanaz Marand stopped Tech’s fourth-ranked Amanda McDowell, 6-4, 6-2, at No. 1 singles.
No. 32 Kirsten Flower gave Tech a 3-1 edge when she downed Grabinski, 6-3, 6-3, at the No. 5 singles spot, and Striplin defeated Laura Reichert, 6-2, 6-1, for the fourth and deciding point of the match.
Sixth-ranked Kristi Miller stopped No. 27 Katrina Tsang, 6-3, 7-6, for the Jackets’ fifth and final point.
Tech will continue on to Durham, where they square off against the Duke Blue Devils Saturday at 12 noon at Ambler Stadium. Live stats for the match will be available at goduke.com.
Georgia Tech 5, North Carolina 2
Doubles: 1. Sanaz Marand/Katrina Tsang def. No. 16 Kristi Miller/Kirsten Flower, 8-7 2. No. 50 Whitney McCray/Sasha Krupina def. Austin Smith/Sophie Grabinski, 8-3 3. Christy Striplin/Noelle Hickey def. Meg Fanjoy/Laura Reichert, 8-6 Order of finish– 3, 2, 1
Singles: 1. No. 9 Sanaz Marand def. No. 4 Amanda McDowell, 6-4, 6-2 2. No. 6 Kristi Miller def. No. 27 Katrina Tsang, 6-3, 7-6 3. No. 39 Whitney McCray def. No. 95 Austin Smith, 6-3, 6-3 4. No. 79 Christy Striplin def. Laura Reichert, 6-2, 6-1 5. No. 32 Kirsten Flower def. Sophie Grabinski, 6-3, 6-3 6. Meg Fanjoy def. No. 107 Noelle Hickey, 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-5) Order of finish: 3, 1, 5, 4, 2, 6
–GT–
