Feb. 15, 2007
ATLANTA – After beginning the 2007 dual-match season with seven-straight matches on the road, the No. 3 Georgia Tech (6-1) women’s tennis team will open its home schedule with a match against No. 68 Auburn (3-1) this Saturday at 12 noon at the Bill Moore Tennis Center. Livestats for the match will be available at www.ramblinwreck.com.
Auburn will be the seventh ranked opponent the Yellow Jackets have seen this season, having defeated each of the nation’s current top two teams (No. 1 Stanford, No. 2 Notre Dame), as well as No. 6 Northwestern, No. 7 North Carolina and No. 19 Pepperdine. The Jackets’ only blemish on the young season came last weekend against the nation’s current No. 12 team, William and Mary.
“We are excited about opening our home schedule with a ranked opponent in Auburn this weekend,” said Georgia Tech head coach Bryan Shelton. “We’ve had a tough schedule with several challenges to open our season, but are looking forward to playing in front of a home crowd for the first time this year. Playing in front of stands filled with white and gold is something this team has been looking forward to since beginning our season, so we hope that people can make it out to the Bill Moore Tennis Center this weekend.”
The Jackets and Tigers will square off for the 18th time in history, with Auburn holding the slight 9-8 series lead. Tech has held the upper hand of late, winning six-straight over the Tigers, including a 7-0 victory last season in Auburn. The Jackets’ last loss against Auburn came at home in 1994.
Senior Alison Silverio and Tarryn Rudman have combined for a 7-2 record in singles matches during the first seven matches, while a pair of juniors in Whitney McCray and Kristi Miller have led Tech’s doubles teams with a 4-2 mark.
A trio of underclassmen in Amanda Craddock (5-0), Kirsten Flower (5-2) and Christy Striplin (4-2) have stepped up their singles play this spring, while Craddock and Flower have posted a 4-3 doubles record in their first season on the Flats.
Another rookie, Amanda McDowell, a native Atlantan and graduate of the Marist School, has quietly been a strong component in the singles lineup, posting a 3-1 record in 2007.
