CARY, N.C. – Making her collegiate debut in the ACC Championships, freshman Alejandra Cruz clinched No. 20 Georgia Tech’s 4-0 victory over Syracuse on Thursday afternoon at the Cary Tennis Park. The Yellow Jackets took the doubles point and three singles victories to advance to the quarterfinals on Friday.
DOUBLES
With victories on courts one and three, Georgia Tech clinched the doubles point and gained the early match lead. Court three wrapped up first as Carol Lee and Rosie Garcia Gross won six-straight points after opening at an 0-2 deficit to defeat Polina Kozyreva and Miyuka Kimoto, 6-2. The Orange quickly evened the doubles field seconds later, taking court two, 6-3.
The doubles point would be decided at the top court where Kylie Bilchev and Cruz led Ines Fonte and Zeynep Erman, 3-1. Syracuse earned back a break to 3-2, but the Jackets pushed their lead out to 5-3. Syracuse fought off multiple match points, but couldn’t rally back as Bilchev and Cruz clinched the doubles point at 6-4, handing the Jackets a 1-0 match lead entering singles play.
SINGLES
Syracuse was forced to retire due to injury early on court one before Bilchev extended Tech’s lead to 3-0 with a straight-set victory on court two. Facing Kimoto, Bilchev dropped only two games en route to a 6-1, 6-1 triumph, putting the Yellow Jackets on the brink of victory.
Cruz clinched the decision on court four where she topped Kozyreva, 6-3, 6-0. The Orange took the opening game before Cruz rattled off three to notch a 3-1 lead in the first set. She pocketed the opening set, 6-3, and dominated the second set, 6-0, to seal Georgia Tech’s spot in the quarterfinals.
Georgia Tech will face No. 2-seeded Duke on Friday in the quarterfinals at 12:30 p.m.
ACC Championship - Second Round
Photos by Jaylynn Nash
RESULTS
DOUBLES
1. No. 85 Kylie Bilchev/Alejandra Cruz (GT) vs. Ines Fonte/Zeynep Erman (SYR) 6-4*
2. Shiori Ito/Viktor Kanapatskaya (SYR) def. Monika Dedaj/Kate Sharabura (GT) 6-3
3. Carol Lee/Rosie Garcia Gross (GT) def. Polina Kozyreva/Miyuka Kimoto (SYR) 6-2
Order of finish: 3,2,1*
*Clinched the doubles point
SINGLES
1. No. 13 Carol Lee (GT) def. No. 102 Zeynep Erman (SYR) 2-0, wr
2. No. 28 Kylie Bilchev (GT) def. Miyka Kimoto (SYR) 6-1,6-1
3. No. 87 Mahak Jain (GT) vs. Viktor Kanapatskaya (SYR) 3-6, 1-4, DNF
4. No. 110 Alejandra Cruz (GT) def. Polina Kozyreva (SYR) 6-3, 6-0^
5. Rosie Garcia Gross (GT) vs. Shiori Ito (SYR) 3-6, 5-2, DNF
6. Kate Sharabura (GT) vs. Ines Fonte (SYR) 4-6, 2-5, DNF
Order of finish: 1,2,4^
^Clinched the overall match
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
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