March 5, 2008
ATLANTA – Catherine Newman held off a late charge by Kristi Miller to lead No. 20 Vanderbilt (8-2) to a 4-3 win over No. 2 Georgia Tech (9-3) Wednesday afternoon at the Bill Moore Tennis Center.
After falling in a first set tiebreaker, Miller, ranked No. 5 in the nation in singles, battled back for a 7-5 win in the second set, but couldn’t pull off the victory, falling to 37th-ranked Newman, 7-6, 5-7, 6-4 in the final match of the day.
“Vanderbilt played really well, and we have to give them credit,” said Georgia Tech head coach Bryan Shelton. “Kristi did a great job to get back in the match. She fought hard in the first set and came back from a 2-5 deficit in the second set. She showed a lot of heart and fight to hang in there.”
The Jackets took the early 1-0 lead by wining at the top two doubles spots. No. 29 Miller and Kirsten Flower stopped Amanda Taylor and Courtney Ulery, 8-6, while 52nd-ranked Whitney McCray and Sasha Krupina notched a 9-8 (3) win against Newman and Caroline Ferrell.
Noelle Hickey gave Tech a 2-0 lead with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Ferrell at No. 6 singles before the Commodores picked up their first point of the match when No. 57 Taka Bertrand knocked off 33rd-ranked Flower, 6-2, 6-3, at the No. 4 position. Vanderbilt tied the match at 2-2 with a straight-set win by No. 51 Ulery at the No. 3 spot before Tech regained the lead when 21st-ranked Maya Johansson stopped Keilly Ulery’s comeback, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.
“It was good to see the freshmen come through at five and six,” Shelton said. “It was also good to see Sasha and Whitney clinch the doubles point for us again.”
The Commodores tied the match at 3-3 when No. 35 Taylor stopped No. 2 Amanda McDowell, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, at the top of the singles lineup to set up Miller and Newman for the deciding match.
“Amanda ran into a really hot player in Amanda Taylor, who really executed well and stepped up when it really counted,” added Shelton. “This is a tough loss, but we have to bounce back. We play Florida State on Friday, and they are a good team. We have to be ready.”
The Jackets will return to conference play this weekend when they travel to Florida State and Miami.
Tennis Match ResultsVanderbilt vs Georgia TechMar 05, 2008 at Atlanta, Ga.
#20 Vanderbilt 4, #2 Georgia Tech 3
Singles competition 1. #35 Amanda Taylor (VU) def. #2 Amanda McDowell (GT) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 2. #37 Catherine Newman (VU) def. #5 Kristi Miller (GT) 7-6, 5-7, 6-4 3. #51 Courtney Ulery (VU) def. #34 Whitney McCray (GT) 7-5, 6-2 4. #57 Taka Bertrand (VU) def. #33 Kirsten Flower (GT) 6-2, 6-3 5. #21 Maya Johansson (GT) def. Keilly Ulery (VU) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 6. #78 Noelle Hickey (GT) def. Caroline Ferrell (VU) 6-2, 6-0
Doubles competition 1. #29 Kristi Miller/Kirsten Flower (GT) def. Amanda Taylor/Courtney Ulery (VU) 8-6 2. #52 Whitney McCray/Sasha Krupina (GT) def. Caroline Ferrell/Catherine Newman (VU) 9-8 (7-3) 3. Keilly Ulery/Taka Bertrand (VU) def. Noelle Hickey/Christy Striplin (GT) 9-7
Match Notes: Vanderbilt 8-2; National ranking #20 Georgia Tech 9-3; National ranking #2 Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (6,4,3,5,1,2) T-4:45 A-113
