March 19, 2008
ATLANTA – No. 2 Georgia Tech will return to Atlantic Coast Conference action this weekend when it travels to North Carolina to take on the Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils in a pair of key league matches Friday and Saturday.
The Yellow Jackets (10-3, 2-0 ACC) are coming off a two-week break and will face No. 13 North Carolina Friday at 2:30 p.m. at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center in Chapel Hill before traveling up the road to meet the ninth-ranked Blue Devils at 12 noon Saturday at Ambler Stadium.
The Tar Heels (11-4, 2-0 ACC) have swept their last four matches by 7-0 scores and are currently riding a five-match winning streak following a 5-2 loss to then-No. 2 Northwestern at the end of February.
UNC currently has three ranked singles player in addition to a top-10 doubles team on their roster and holds a 23-7 record against the Yellow Jackets. Tech has held the upper hand in the series of late, winning three-straight against the Tar Heels, and five of the last six matches in the series. The last match held in Chapel Hill resulted in UNC’s last victory over the Jackets, a 4-3 win on April 8, 2006. Tech is seeking its first win in Chapel Hill since the 1998 season.
Entering a match against NC State Wednesday afternoon, Duke (9-1, 2-0 ACC) is riding a four-match winning streak, with their only loss of the season coming at the hands of the Northwestern Wildcats two days after they defeated North Carolina. The Blue Devils have lost to the Yellow Jackets just twice in the 31 matches between the two schools, with both losses coming last season. Tech is still seeking its first win against the Blue Devils in Durham.
The Yellow Jackets boast seven ranked singles players and three doubles teams that appear in the top-50 in the nation while the team has maintained a top-five ranking the entire season. Among the three teams this weekend, there are 13 ranked singles players and five ranked doubles tandems.
RANKED SINGLES & DOUBLES PLAYERS FROM GT, DUKE, UNCNo. 4 Amanda McDowell, Georgia TechNo. 6 Kristi Miller, Georgia TechNo. 9 Sanaz Marand, UNCNo. 14 Ellah Nze, DukeNo. 17 Reka Zsilinszka, DukeNo. 27 Katrina Tsang, UNCNo. 29 Maya Johansson, Georgia TechNo. 32 Kirsten Flower, Georgia TechNo. 39 Whitney McCray, Georgia TechNo. 53 Elizabeth Plotkin, DukeNo. 79 Christy Striplin, Georgia TechNo. 95 Austin Smith, UNCNo. 107 Noelle Hickey, Georgia TechNo. 3 Amanda Granson/Melissa Mang, DukeNo. 10 Marand/Sophie Grabinski, UNCNo. 14 Miller/McCray, Georgia TechNo. 16 Miller/Flower, Georgia TechNo. 50 McCray/Sasha Krupina, Georgia Tech