Feb. 27, 2008
ATLANTA – Kristi Miller knocked off the nation’s top-ranked singles player and Christy Striplin dropped just two games en route to a 6-2, 6-0 singles win to clinch No. 2 Georgia Tech’s 6-1 victory over No. 24 Clemson (4-7, 0-1 ACC) Wednesday evening at the Bill Moore Tennis Center.
“Clemson has a talented group, and we knew that coming into the match,” said Georgia Tech head coach Bryan Shelton. “We knew that we had to play with heart today and we did that – leaving everything on the court. This was a team effort, from the top to the bottom of the lineup, and I felt that we really came together as a team in this match.”
The Yellow Jackets (8-2, 1-0 ACC) fell behind after dropping a pair of doubles tiebreakers but battled through singles to pick up the fourth win in their last five matches against the Tigers.
No. 4 Amanda McDowell tied the match at 1-1 by winning her last 10 games to take a 6-2, 6-0 victory against Clemson’s Estefania Balda at No. 2 singles, and 21st-ranked Whitney McCray put the Jackets up, 2-1, with an exciting comeback victory at No. 3 singles. After dropping her first set, 6-0, to No. 82 Federica van Adreichem, the Yellow Jacket senior breezed through the next two sets to take win, 0-6, 6-2, 6-3, giving Tech the lead for good.
Following No. 30 Kirsten Flower’s 6-2, 7-6 (3) win against Ina Hadziselimovic at No. 4 singles, Striplin, ranked 84th in the country in singles, closed out her match by winning the last seven games to clinch the match for Georgia Tech.
Tech’s Miller, ranked No. 6 in the nation in singles, left everything on the court against the nation’s top-ranked Ani Mijacika to pull out a 6-4, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (6) win at No. 1 singles. It marks the third-straight season that the Yellow Jacket All-American has notched a win against a player ranked No. 1 in the nation in singles.
No. 19 Maya Johansson then finished off the match with a 7-5, 6-3 win against Carol Salge at the No. 6 position.
The Yellow Jackets will be back in action this weekend when they travel to South Bend, Ind. to take on Notre Dame. The Jackets and Irish will square off Saturday at 4 p.m. CT.
Tennis Match ResultsClemson vs Georgia TechFeb 27, 2008 at Atlanta, Ga.
#2 Georgia Tech 6, #24 Clemson 1
Singles competition 1. #6 Kristi Miller (GT) def. #1 Ani Mijacika (CU) 6-4, 6-7 (7-9), 7-6 (8-6) 2. #4 Amanda McDowell (GT) def. Estefania Balda (CU) 6-2, 6-0 3. #21 Whitney McCray (GT) def. #82 Federica vanAdrichem (CU) 0-6, 6-2, 6-3 4. #30 Kirsten Flower (GT) def. Ina Hadziselimovic (CU) 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) 5. #84 Christy Striplin (GT) def. Alexandra Luc (CU) 6-2, 6-0 6. Carol Salge (CU) vs. #19 Maya Johansson (GT) 7-5, 6-3
Doubles competition 1. Mijacika/ Salge (CU) def. #16 Flower/ Miller (GT) 9-8 (7-5) 2. McCray/Sasha Krupina (GT) def. van Adrichem/ Balda (CU) 8-5 3. Hadziselimovic/ Luc (CU) def. Striplin/Noelle Hickey (GT) 9-8 (7-3)
Match Notes: Clemson 4-7, 0-1 ACC; National ranking #24 Georgia Tech 8-2, 1-0 ACC; National ranking #2 Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (2,3,4,5,1,6)
