April 11, 2007
ATLANTA – Yellow Jacket seniors Alison Silverio and Tarryn Rudman posted singles and doubles victories in the last regular-season home matches of their careers to lead No. 4 Georgia Tech (18-4) to its 10th-straight victory, a 7-0 blanking of Furman (12-9) Wednesday afternoon at the Bill Moore Tennis Center.
“It was nice to have a quick break from the rigors of the ACC schedule, playing a non-conference match today,” said Georgia Tech head coach Bryan Shelton. “We were able to play some different people today, and they played extremely well, and I think that everyone is peaking at the right time.”
Silverio, ranked No. 80 in the nation in singles play, recorded her 30th singles win of the season, and 109th of her career, with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Furman’s Bonnie Baird at the second singles line. The Louisville, Ohio native also teamed with Amanda Craddock to clinch the doubles point for the Jackets earlier in the day.
Rudman was just as strong in her singles match, downing Natasa Manojlovic, 6-3, 6-0 for her 31st singles win of the season. Ranked No. 103 in the nation in singles, the Johannesburg, South Africa also started the Jackets off on a positive note in doubles play, teaming with Kirsten Flower for the Jackets’ first doubles win of the day.
“Ali and T (Tarryn) have been such a critical part to our team and success, and I can look back through the last few years to so many big moments that they were a part of,” said Shelton. “From the ACC Championships to our first national title, they were huge parts of all of those feats, so it’s a special day for them not only because of what they bring with their tennis abilities, but as first-class student-athletes.”
After Georgia Tech swept all three doubles matches, No. 116 Amanda McDowell gave the Jackets a 2-0 lead by breezing to a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Furman’s Jacqueline Eckert at the No. 3 singles position before Silverio pushed the score to 3-0 in favor of the home team with her straight-set win at the No. 2 spot.
Fifth-ranked Kristi Miller captured the deciding point of the match by dispatching No. 123 Laura Gioia, 6-0, 6-2, at the top of the singles lineup, and No. 30 Flower pushed the score to 5-0 by blanking Wanjiku Ngaruiya, 6-0, 6-0, at the sixth singles spot.
After No. 103 Rudman gave the Jackets a 6-0 lead with her straight-set singles win at the fifth position, Christy Striplin completed the sweep for Georgia Tech with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Lauren Tomory at No. 6 singles.
Earlier in the day, the Georgia Tech tandem of Flower and Rudman breezed to an 8-3 victory over Tomory and Lisa Bornt-Davis at the third doubles position before Tech’s 40th-ranked Silverio and Craddock stopped Gioia and Manojlovic, 8-6, atop the lineup to capture the doubles point for the Yellow Jackets. Kristi Miller and Striplin then completed the Jackets’ doubles sweep by stopping Baird and Eckert, 9-8 (5), at the second doubles spot.
“Our girls played really well throughout the match, and I think that doubles set the tone, as it usually does, for the match,” said Shelton. “We didn’t take Furman lightly. We’ve had good doubles matches with them in the past, so it was nice to come out today and win all three matches.”
The Yellow Jackets will hit the road for their final regular season matches of 2007 this weekend, facing the Virginia Tech Hokies in Blacksburg Saturday at 12 noon before continuing on to Charlottesville to close out the regular season with an 11 a.m. match Sunday against the Virginia Cavaliers.
Tennis Match ResultsFurman vs Georgia TechApr 11, 2007 at Atlanta, Ga.
#4 Georgia Tech 7, Furman 0
Singles competition1. #5 Kristi Miller (GT) def. #123 Laura Gioia (FUR) 6-0, 6-22. #80 Alison Silverio (GT) def. Bonnie Baird (FUR) 6-2, 6-13. #116 Amanda McDowell (GT) def. Jacqueline Eckert (FUR) 6-1, 6-04. #46 Christy Striplin (GT) def. Lauren Tomory (FUR) 6-4, 6-15. #103 Tarryn Rudman (GT) def. Natasa Manojlovic (FUR) 6-3, 6-06. #30 Kirsten Flower (GT) def. Wanjiku Ngaruiya (FUR) 6-0, 6-0
Doubles competition1. #40 Amanda Craddock/Silverio (GT) def. Gioia/Manojlovic (FUR) 8-62. Miller/Striplin (GT) def. Baird/Eckert (FUR) 9-8 (7-5)3. Flower/Rudman (GT) def. Tomory/Lisa Bornt-Davis (FUR) 8-3
Match Notes:Furman 12-9Georgia Tech 18-4; National ranking #4Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (3,2,1,6,5,4)
