April 14, 2012
Atlanta – The 25th-ranked Georgia Tech women’s tennis team (11-10, 5-5 ACC) had to dig deep and fight hard to claim its 17th straight win over the NC State Wolfpack (7-14, 3-7 ACC), a 6-1 victory Saturday afternoon at the Bill Moore Tennis Center.
“We had our hands full again today. NC State came out and played really well,” head coach Bryan Shelton said. “More than anything, I think they just competed from the first ball to the last ball today. We had three goals in mind for today. We had game plans and we wanted to execute those game plans, and I thought we did a good job of that. We wanted to play with a lot of energy and enthusiasm, and I thought we did a good job of that. And the third one was to just to enjoy it. I thought that was a little bit of a mixed bag, but we just have to keep working.”
For the 13th time this season, Georgia Tech took a 1-0 lead into singles play after winning the doubles point.
Viet Ha Ngo and Muriel Wacker gave Tech the early edge with an 8-5 win over NC State’s tandem Chloe Smith and Elisha Handle on court three. It was the 12th win of the year for Ngo and Wacker, who have won three straight matches and are 7-3 in their last 10 matches.
The Wolfpack leveled doubles play when Tatiana Illova and Nicole Martinez topped the Jackets’ 63rd-ranked side of Lynn Blau and Elizabeth Kilborn 8-5 on court two.
Jillian O’Neill and Alex Anghelescu, ranked No. 10 nationally, opened fast on court one, building a 7-2 lead over NC State’s Ashley Miller and Joelle Kissell, before finishing off an 8-4 win to put Tech up 1-0 in the team score.
Anghelescu picked up her second win of the day and put Georgia Tech up 2-0 with a 6-2, 6-2 win over NC State’s Smith on court four. Blau’s overhead slam put the exclamation point on a 6-3, 6-2 win over Martinez to give the Yellow Jackets a 3-0 lead.
“Lynn and Alex really jumped out quick and it was good to see,” Shelton said. “They’re both players that have a lot of different tools and I thought they did a good job of using there tools effectively. They were creating plays for themselves and they were finishing them.”
The Wolfpack got their first point of the day when Christy Sipes downed Tech freshman Jasmine Minor 6-0, 7-6(4) on court five.
Nothing came easy for either team on courts one, two and three. Caroline Lilley clinched the Georgia Tech win with a 6-4, 7-6(4) win on court two over the Pack’s Illova. Tech’s No.16 O’Neill and State’s No. 30 Kissell had a classic back-and-forth battle fitting of the teams’ two top players. O’Neill rallied after losing the first set 7-6(1) to win the next two sets, 6-2, 6-3. It was O’Neill’s 15th win of the spring and her eighth over a ranked opponent.
Kilborn, ranked No. 122, capped the Yellow Jacket victory with a three-set battle of her own, topping the Wolfpack’s Miller 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 on court three.
“I think we gained a lot in those three matches today,” Shelton said of the matches on courts one, two and three. “They were pushed and tested physically, mentally and emotionally as they were a little bit up and down. You can’t fault them for their toughness and staying in there and going in the distance. They believed at the end of those tough sets, they could do it.”
Georgia Tech’s final regular-season match of the 2012 season will be tomorrow at noon when the Yellow Jackets host the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in a noon match. Prior the match, Georgia Tech will honor Blau, Lilley, Ngo and O’Neill on senior day.
Fans are encouraged to follow Georgia Tech women’s tennis on Twitter, @GT_WTEN, and like the Yellow Jackets on Facebook, GTWomensTennis, for an inside look at the program.
Match Results
#75 NC State at #25 Georgia Tech
April 14, 2012
#25 Georgia Tech 6, #75 NC State 1
Doubles (3, 2, 1)
1. #10 Alex Anghelescu / Jillian O’Neill (GT) def. Ashley Miller / Joelle Kissell (NCST), 8-4
2. Tatiana Illova / Nicole Martinez (NCST) def. #63 Lynn Blau / Elizabeth Kilborn (GT), 8-5
3. Viet Ha Ngo / Muriel Wacker (GT) def. Chloe Smith / Elisha Handle (NCST), 8-5
Singles (4, 6, 5, 2, 1, 3)
1. #16 Jillian O’Neill (GT) def. #30 Joelle Kissell (NCST), 6-7(1), 6-2, 6-3
2. #121 Caroline Lilley (GT) def. Tatiana Illova (NCST), 6-4, 7-6(4)
3. #122 Elizabeth Kilborn (GT) def. Ashley Miller (NCST), 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
4. Alex Anghelescu (GT) def. Chloe Smith (NCST), 6-2, 6-2
5. Christy Sipes (NCST) def. Jasmine Minor (GT), 6-0, 7-6(4)
6. Lynn Blau (GT) def. Nicole Martinez (NCST), 6-3, 6-2
Match Notes:
Georgia Tech 11-10, 5-5 ACC, national ranking No. 25
NC State 7-14, 3-7 ACC, national ranking No. 75
— RamblinWreck.com —
