THE FLATS – Georgia Tech women’s tennis junior Kenya Jones picked up a solid win over a top-10 opponent Friday afternoon, but it wasn’t enough to lift the Yellow Jackets over the No. 1 Tar Heels. North Carolina remained undefeated in the ACC capturing a 4-1 victory at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex. Tech dropped to 12-10 overall and 7-6 in league play.
DOUBLES ACTION: With wins on courts one and two, North Carolina took the early match lead claiming the doubles point. Court two wrapped up first as UNC’s Makenna Jones and Alle Sanford raced out with a 4-0 lead over Jones and Valeriya Deminova. But the Yellow Jackets rallied back, winning the next three games for a 4-3 tally. UNC snapped the run and won the next two games for a 6-3 win. The Tar Heels claimed the doubles point from court one where the No. 7 duo of Jessie Aney and Alexa Graham battled Tech’s Nami Otsuka and Gia Cohen. The Yellow Jacket tandem broke the Tar Heels for a 3-1 edge, but UNC worked its way back, winning the next five games to clinch the point with a 6-3 victory.
SINGLES ACTION: No. 12 Sara Daavettila posted a point for UNC, winning her match over Deminova on court three, 6-0, 6-0, before No. 5 Jones edged Otsuka on court two, 6-3, 6-4, setting up a 3-0 score in favor of North Carolina.
Tech’s top-ranked player, No. 14 Jones pocketed a huge victory from court one. The junior topped No. 6 Graham in straight-sets to put the Jackets on the scoreboard. Tied at 2-all in the first set, Jones worked her way to a 4-3 lead and captured the first set, 7-5. The Jacket raced out in the second set with a 4-0 advantage and pocketed the match with a 6-1 second set win for the upset.
North Carolina clinched the match from the five seed as No. 125 Aney won a three-set battle over Flores, 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, for the final 4-1 score. Nadia Gizdova look on track to pick up a win on court six over Chloe Ouellet-Pizer, leading the Tar Heel, 6-4, 1-6, 4-2, before the match was clinched.
QUOTABLE: “Today was a tough match. UNC has a great team which is why they are ranked No. 1 in the country. I thought we competed hard on all the courts. I was happy for Kenya, I thought she played great. I thought Gia played well along with Vicky and Nadia [Gizdova]. We have a good number of things to keep working on in preparation for NC State on Sunday and the ACC Tournament next week.” – Head coach Rodney Harmon
UP NEXT: Georgia Tech concludes regular season play on Sunday hosting No. 9 NC State. First serve at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex is slated for noon.
RESULTS
Doubles
1-No. 7 Jessie Aney/Alexa Graham (UNC) def. Gia Cohen/Nami Otsuka (GT) 6-3
2- Makenna Jones/Alle Sanford (UNC) def. Valeriya Deminova/Keya Jones (GT) 6-3
3-Victoria Flores/Nadia Gizdova (GT) vs. Cameron Morra/Sara Daavettila (UNC) 5-5, DNF
Order of finish: 2,1
Singles
1-No. 14 Kenya Jones (GT) def. No. 6 Alexa Graham (UNC) 7-5, 6-1
2- No. 5 Makenna Jones (UNC) def. Nami Otsuka (GT) 6-3, 6-4
3- No. 12 Sara Daavettila (UNC) def. Valeriya Deminova (GT) 6-0, 6-0
4-Gia Cohen (GT) vs. No. 36 Cameron Morra (UNC) 7-5, 5-7, 0-2, DNF
5- No. 125 Jessie Aney (UNC) def. Victoria Flores (GT) 6-1, 2-6, 6-4
6-Nadia Gizdova (GT) vs. Chloe Ouellet-Pizer (UNC) 6-4, 1-6, 4-2, DNF
Order of finish: 3,2,1,5
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