April 1, 2007
ATLANTA – Christy Striplin cruised to a straight-set victory at No. 5 singles after Alison Silverio fought for a three-set win at the No. 2 spot to lead No. 7 Georgia Tech (15-4, 6-1 ACC) to its first victory over No. 20 Duke University (9-5, 4-2 ACC), 4-3, Sunday afternoon at the Bill Moore Tennis Center.
With the Yellow Jackets leading 2-1, Silverio fought back from a 4-1 deficit in the third set against Duke’s 59th-ranked Melissa Mang to win five straight games and capture a 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-4 victory to give Tech its third point. Striplin, ranked No. 44 in the nation in singles, then followed her 6-3 first-set win with an easy 6-1 victory over Tory Zawacki in the second set to clinch the Jackets’ first victory in 30 chances against the Blue Devils.
“This is certainly one of the best runs that we’ve ever been on at Georgia Tech, with our play over the last several weeks,” said Georgia Tech head coach Bryan Shelton. “Beating Duke today to finish up four more tough matches in the ACC really makes all of us so happy. It’s the first time we’ve ever come though against Duke, and for Ali to come through the way that she did after being down 4-1 in the third is what you want to see from your senior.”
With the victory, the Yellow Jackets have won six-straight ACC matches after falling to Clemson to begin conference play, and currently stand tied for first in the ACC standings with Clemson and Miami.
“Overall, I’m just really proud of the team and where we stand right now,” added Shelton. “I really feel like there are a lot of good things left for us in the regular season and the postseason.”
Duke led early after winning two of the three doubles matches. The Blue Devils’ 12th-ranked duo of Mang and Daniela Bercek stopped Tech’s top doubles team, eighth-ranked Kristi Miller and Whitney McCray, in a closely-contested match, 9-8 (3), to secure the doubles point after the Nos. 2 and 3 doubles flights split earlier in the day. Tech’s second doubles tandem of Silverio and Amanda Craddock downed Duke’s Jessi Robinson and Amanda Granson, 8-5, but the Blue Devils’ duo of Elizabeth Plotkin and Kristin Cargill stopped Tech’s Kirsten Flower and Tarryn Rudman to set up the top doubles flight as the deciding match.
Miller, ranked seventh in the nation in singles play, tied the match at 1-1 when she dropped No. 52 Daniela Bercek, 6-0, 6-2, and Tech took the 2-1 lead on 99th-ranked Craddock’s 6-3, 6-1 win over No. 106 Plotkin at the third singles line.
The Blue Devils finished off the match by recording wins at the Nos. 4 and 6 singles spots for the final 4-3 margin.
The Jackets will take the week off before traveling to North Carolina for a pair of matches at Wake Forest and N.C. State. Tech and Wake will meet Saturday at 12 noon while the Jackets and Wolfpack square off Sunday at 12 p.m.
Tennis Match ResultsDuke vs Georgia TechApr 01, 2007 at Atlanta, Ga.
#7 Georgia Tech 4, #20 Duke 3
Singles competition1. #7 Kristi Miller (GT) def. #52 Daniela Bercek (DU) 6-0, 6-22. #116 Alison Silverio (GT) def. #59 Melissa Mang (DU) 7-6, 5-6, 6-43. #99 Amanda Craddock (GT) def. #106 Elizabeth Plotkin (DU) 6-3, 6-14. Amanda Granson (DU) def. #121 Amanda McDowell (GT) 6-3, 7-65. #44 Christy Striplin (GT) def. Tory Zawacki (DU) 6-3, 6-16. Clelia Deltour (DU) def. #75 Tarryn Rudman (GT) 6-0, 2-6, 1-0 (10-4)
Doubles competition1. #12 Bercek/ Mang (DU) def. #8 Whitney McCray/ Miller (GT) 9-8 (7-3)2. Craddock/ Silverio (GT) def. Granson/Jessi Robinson (DU) 8-53. Kristin Cargill/ Plotkin (DU) def. Kirsten Flower/ Rudman (GT) 8-6
Match Notes:Duke 9-5, 4-2 ACC; National ranking #20Georgia Tech 15-4, 6-1 ACC; National ranking #7Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (1,3,2,5,4,6)
