Feb. 15, 2009
MADISON, Wis. – Senior Christy Striplin clinched the match with a three-set singles victory to lead the No. 7 Georgia Tech women’s tennis team (5-1) to a 4-3 upset of No. 3 UCLA (5-2) Sunday in the consolation quarterfinal of the 2009 ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
“This is a great win over a great program,” head coach Bryan Shelton said. “We defeated the defending national champions and it is a great feeling. It was also nice to see our only senior step up and clinch the match for us.”
The Yellow Jackets opened the day by winning the doubles point at Nielsen Tennis Stadium. Tech’s fifth-ranked duo of Amanda McDowell and Irina Falconi finished off Andrea Remynse and Yasmin Schnack, 8-4, from the top spot in the lineup. Striplin and Noelle Hickey clinched the point for the Jackets from the No. 2 doubles position after holding off Maya Johansson and Ashley Joelson, 9-8.
Hickey, the nation’s 57th-ranked player, pushed the Jackets’ lead to 2-0 when she blew past Joelson, 6-1, 6-4, in the fourth flight.
UCLA surged back with a pair of straight-set victories from the top two spots in the lineup by Schnack and Remynse. Carling Seguso would then give the Bruins their first lead of the day when she defeated Sasha Krupina, 6-2, 6-3, at the No. 5 position.
Yellow Jacket freshman Viet Ha Ngo would tie the match at 3-3 when she earned her third straight victory from the No. 6 spot at the Championships by beating Ana Victoria Lind, 6-2, 6-4.
Striplin, a Birmingham, Ala., native, clinched the win for Tech after holding off Johansson, 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (3). The three-set thriller lasted close to 2 hours, 30 minutes.
“To go 2-1 this weekend at this tournament was a great accomplishment especially because we were playing some of the best teams in the country,” Shelton added.
The Jackets schedule does not get any easier as they host No. 1 Northwester next Sunday, Feb. 22 when at the Bill Moore Tennis Center. The match is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
No. 7 Georgia 4 – No. 3 UCLA 3
Singles
#31 Andrea Remynse (UCLA) def. #11 Amanda McDowell (GT), 7-5, 6-1
#106 Yasmin Schnack (UCLA) def. #23 Irina Falconi (GT), 6-3, 6-1
#27 Christy Striplin (GT) def. #63 Maya Johannson (UCLA), 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (3)
#57 Noelle Hickey (GT) def. Ashley Joelson (UCLA), 6-1, 6-4
Carling Seguso (UCLA) def. Sasha Krupina (GT), 6-2, 6-3
Viet Ha Ngo (GT) def. Ana Victoria Lind (UCLA), 6-2, 6-4
Order of Finish: 4, 2, 1, 5, 6, 3
Doubles
#5 McDowell/Falconi (GT) def. Remynse/Schnack (UCLA), 8-4
Striplin/Hickey (GT) def. Johansson/Joelson (UCLA), 9-8
Wetmore/Seguso (UCLA) def. Krupina/Davis (GT), 8-6
– RamblinWreck.com –
