THE FLATS – The No. 31 Georgia Tech women’s tennis team opened Atlantic Coast Conference play with a sweep over Pitt, 7-0, Sunday afternoon at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex. The win pushed Tech to 4-4 overall and 1-0 in league play.
DOUBLES ACTION: Georgia Tech took control of the match starting with doubles action. The Yellow Jacket tandem of Valeriya Deminova and Victoria Flores, competing at the No. 1 seed for the first time this dual season, opened play with a 4-2 lead over Gabriela Rezende/Claudia Bartolome. The Jackets pushed their lead out to 5-3 and sealed the win, 6-4. The doubles point was clinched from court three where Kenya Jones partnered with Nadia Gizdova for the first time this season. The pair raced out with a 4-2 edge over Clara Lucas/Camila Moreno and extended their lead to 5-4. They sealed the doubles point for Tech with a 6-4 triumph to give the Jackets the early 1-0 advantage.
SINGLES ACTION: Tech captured three singles wins in straight-sets to clinch the match victory. Flores wrapped up first from court four, where she opened with a dominating 4-1 lead over Gabriela Rezenda. Flores never looked back, taking the match, 6-1, 6-3. No. 24 Kenya Jones cushioned Tech’s lead, also taking home a straight-set win from court one. In a tight first set in which Jones and Claudia Bartolome stood tied at 5-5, the junior won the next two games to capture the opening set, 7-5. Jones took control in the second set, winning 6-2, to give the Jackets a 3-0 match lead.
Deminova clinched the match for Tech from the three seed. The freshman dropped only four games en route to a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Camila Moreno, sealing the win for Georgia Tech.
The Jackets pocketed the final three singles matches to complete the sweep over Pitt. After dropping the first set, Gia Cohen responded winning the next two sets to take the match over M. Perez Noguera, 2-6, 6-1, 6-3. Both Nami Otsuka and Gizdova won their singles matches in super tiebreaks. Otsuka edged Luisa Varon, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 1-0 (10-6), while Gizdova topped Natsumi Okamoto, 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (10-8), to complete the match.
QUOTABLE: “Today was our first match outdoors since Georgia State and it was a tough match. I thought Pitt played very well. I thought we played well in some spots. We were happy to get the win in our first ACC match, but we have a lot to work on with a big weekend coming up with Duke and Syracuse.” – Head coach Rodney Harmon
UP NEXT: The Jackets return to the courts traveling to face Duke on Friday, March 1. First serve in Durham is slated for 5 p.m. Georgia Tech then returns home to host Syracuse on Sunday, March 3 at noon at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex.
RESULTS
Doubles
1-Valeriya Deminova/Victoria Flores (GT) def. Gabriela Rezende/Claudia Bartolome (PITT) 6-4
2-Gia Cohen/Nami Otsuka (GT) vs. Luisa Varon/Natsumi Okamoto (PITT) 5-4, DNF
3-Kenya Jones/Nadia Gizdova (GT) def. Clara Lucas/Camila Moreno (PITT) 6-4
Order of finish: 1,3
Singles
1-No. 24 Kenya Jones (GT) def. Claudia Bartolome (PITT) 7-5, 6-2
2-Nami Otsuka (GT) def. Luisa Varon (PITT) 6-7 (5), 6-3, 1-0 (10-6)
3-Valeriya Deminova (GT) def. Camila Moreno (PITT) 6-4, 6-0
4-Victoria Flores (GT) def. Gabriela Rezenda (PITT) 6-1, 6-3
5-Gia Cohen (GT) def. M. Perez Noguera (PITT) 2-6, 6-1, 6-3
6-Nadia Gizdova (GT) def. Natsumi Okamoto (PITT) 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (10-8)
Order of finish: 4,1,3,5,2,6
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