Feb. 23, 2008
ATLANTA – Monika Dancevic battled back after losing her first set to clinch a 6-7, 6-3, 7-5 win at the No. 3 singles, giving No. 4 Georgia (7-1) a 4-3 victory over No. 1 Georgia Tech (7-2) Saturday afternoon at the Bill Moore Tennis Center.
“Georgia really fought out there on the court today,” said Georgia Tech head coach Bryan Shelton. “They played extremely well, never giving up. They deserved the victory today.”
Dancevic fell behind 5-3 in the third set but won the next four games to give the Bulldogs just their second win in the last five matches against the Yellow Jackets. Georgia fell to Georgia Tech, 7-0, just two weeks ago in the quarterfinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
Tech took an early 1-0 lead in the match after Whitney McCray and Sasha Krupina rallied from a 7-5 deficit to earn a 9-7 victory over No. 21 Yvette Hyndman and Naoko Ueshima at No. 2 doubles. The win followed Christy Striplin and Noelle Hickey’s 8-3 victory at the No. 3 spot against Georgia’s Cameron Ellis and Adrienne Elsberry to begin the day.
“I thought doubles was one of the highlights for our team today,” Shelton said. “Seeing Sasha come in and play so well, handling the pressure so well, really made a statement today. I am just really excited about our entire freshman class.
“Noelle was a catalyst, teaming with [Christy] in doubles. Maya [Johansson] then getting the quick win at singles, giving us the 2-0 lead, was another big note for the Yellow Jacket freshmen. That was really the highlight for us today, seeing our young players out there battling and competing well.”
Johansson stopped Elsberry, 6-1, 6-4, at the No. 6 singles spot and Kristi Miller dropped Kelley Hyndman, 6-1, 6-2, atop the singles lineup before the Bulldogs notched their first point of the day on a 6-3, 6-4 win by Ellis at the No. 5 spot. Ueshima would pull Georgia to within one point with a straight-set win at the No. 4 position before Yvette Hyndman evened the score at 3-3 with a three-set victory at No. 2 singles.
The Jackets will return to action this Wednesday when they host Clemson in Tech’s ACC opener at 2 p.m. at the Bill Moore Tennis Center. Live stats will be available at Ramblinwreck.com.
Tennis Match ResultsGeorgia vs Georgia TechFeb 23, 2008 at Atlanta, Ga.
#4 Georgia 4, #1 Georgia Tech 3
Singles competition 1. #6 Kristi Miller (GT) def. #32 Kelley Hyndman (GA) 6-1, 6-2 2. Yvette Hyndman (GA) def. #21 Whitney McCray (GT) 6-1, 6-7 (2-7), 6-2 3. #51 Monika Dancevic (GA) def. #30 Kirsten Flower (GT) 5-7, 6-3, 7-5 4. Naoko Ueshima (GA) def. #84 Christy Striplin (GT) 6-3, 6-1 5. Cameron Ellis (GA) def. #85 Noelle Hickey (GT) 6-3, 6-4 6. #19 Maya Johansson (GT) def. Adrienne Elsberry (GA) 6-1, 6-4
Doubles competition 1. #22 Kelley Hyndman/Monika Dancevic (GA) def. #16 Miller/ Flower (GT) 8-4 2. McCray/Sasha Krupina (GT) def. #21 Yvette Hyndman/ Ueshima (GA) 9-7 3. Striplin/ Hickey (GT) def. Ellis/ Elsberry (GA) 8-3
Match Notes: Georgia 7-1; National ranking #4 Georgia Tech 7-2; National ranking #1 Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (6,1,5,4,2,3)
–GT–
