Feb. 4, 2007
MADISON, Wis. – Kirsten Flower, Christy Striplin and Amanda Craddock all won singles matches and the Yellow Jackets took two of three doubles matches to give Georgia Tech its first USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championship in the history of the program.
The Yellow Jackets ended an NCAA-record 89-match winning streak when they defeated three-time defending champion Stanford in the semifinals Saturday evening before posting a 4-2 victory over the No. 2 seed, Notre Dame (5-1), Sunday in the championship match. With the win, Georgia Tech (4-0) becomes just the second ACC school earn the title, joining Duke, who was the last team prior to Stanford to win the championship match, when they did so in 2003.
The USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championship is the collegiate tennis’ premier indoor team tournament and is the second of three ITA national collegiate championships of the season. (The other two are the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships in November and the NCAA Championships in May).
After both Alison Silverio and Amanda Craddock dropped their first sets in singles, the two Yellow Jackets fought back to force decisive third sets at the Nos. 4 and 6 singles positions, respectively, with Georgia Tech needing just one of the two to win in order for the Yellow Jackets to claim the indoor title. Both players broke their opponents early in the third sets, but the 64th-ranked Craddock won the decisive point, defeating Brook Buck, 2-6, 7-5, 6-2, at the No. 6 slot to give the Jackets the victory.
Silverio, ranked No. 82 in the country in singles play, had fought back from a 5-7 loss in the first set to win the second, 6-2, and was leading 5-1 in the third frame at the time the match was decided.
Twenty-fifth ranked Kirsten Flower won her fourth-straight match in the tournament, with all four wins coming in straight sets, to give the Yellow Jackets a 2-0 lead over the Irish. The rookie quickly dispatched of Notre Dame’s 31st-ranked Colleen Rielley at the No. 2 singles position, 6-2, 6-1, before sophomore Christy Striplin gave Tech a 3-0 match lead with a straight-set win over Christian Thompson at the No. 3 singles spot.
Striplin, ranked 95th in the nation in singles, easily won her first set, 6-1 before falling behind 0-3 in the second frame. The Birmingham, Ala. native then buckled down to win six straight games to take the second set and the match, 6-1, 6-3.
Despite trailing 3-0 in the match, the Irish didn’t give in to the Yellow Jackets’ pressure. No. 41 Catrina Thompson fought off a second-set comeback by 15th-ranked Kristi Miller to take a 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 victory while Cosmina Ciobanu fought for a 7-5, 6-3 win at No. 5 singles to pull the Irish to within one point at 3-2.
After Notre Dame’s fifth-ranked team of Kelcy Tefft and Buck earned an 8-6 win at the No. 2 doubles position, the Jackets’ tandem of Amanda Craddock and Flower posted an 8-6 victory in the No. 3 slot to set up the top line for the doubles point. Tech’s unranked duo of Whitney McCray and Miller came through for the second-straight day, posting a 9-7 victory over the Irish’s 11th-ranked Thompson twins to give the Jackets the 1-0 lead heading into singles play.
The Yellow Jackets will return to Atlanta tonight before traveling to the Chicago area next weekend, where they will meet No. 25 William & Mary (Saturday, 3 p.m. ET) and Illinois (Sunday, 12 noon) in Champaign before facing No. 8 Northwestern in Evanston Monday at 4 p.m.
Tennis Match ResultsGeorgia Tech vs Notre DameFeb 04, 2007 at Madison, Wisc.
#6 Georgia Tech 4, #4 Notre Dame 2
Singles competition1. #41 Catrina Thompson (ND) def. #15 Kristi Miller (GT) 6-3, 2-6, 6-12. #25 Kirsten Flower (GT) def. #31 Colleen Rielley (ND) 6-2, 6-13. #95 Christy Striplin (GT) def. Christian Thompson (ND) 6-1, 6-34. #82 Alison Silverio (GT) vs. Kelcy Tefft (ND) 5-7, 6-2, 5-1, unfinished5. Cosmina Ciobanu (ND) def. Tarryn Rudman (GT) 7-5, 6-36. #64 Amanda Craddock (GT) def. Brook Buck (ND) 2-6, 7-5, 6-2
Doubles competition1. Whitney McCray/ Miller (GT) def. #11 Thompson/ Thompson (ND) 9-72. #5 Buck/ Tefft (ND) def. Rudman/ Silverio (GT) 8-63. Craddock/ Flower (GT) def. Ciobanu/Kali Krisik (ND) 8-6
Match Notes:Georgia Tech 4-0; National ranking #6Notre Dame 5-1; National ranking #4Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (2,3,1,5,6)
