ATHENS, Ga. — It all came down to the last match for a spot in the quarterfinals and despite Georgia Tech wining the doubles point, Oklahoma State fought back in singles play to take the win 4-3. The Jackets picked up singles wins from Kenya Jones and Nami Otsuka as Tech finished the season with a 27-5 record.
DOUBLES ACTION: Georgia Tech raced out in doubles, dropping just two games to claim the point and the early lead. First off the court, the 29th-ranked duo of Paige Hourigan and Kenya Jones swept No. 13 Vladica Babic/Carla Tur Mari, 6-0. Tech clinched the point from the two seed as No. 23 Johnnise Renaud and Rasheeda McAdoo downed No. 48 Aliona Bolsova/Katie Stresnakova, 6-2.
SINGLES PLAY: It was a back-and-forth battle in singles play with the match coming down to court three for the deciding point. The Cowgirls tied the match with a straight set, 6-0, 6-2, victory at the top seed before Jones gave the Yellow Jackets a 2-1 lead with a 6-2, 6-2 triumph over Babic on court four. Lena Ruppert knotted the match for the second time at 2-2, taking a 6-4, 6-2 win over Luca Fabian on court six. OSU snagged its first lead of the match when Katarina Adamovic took two 6-3 sets over Renaud at No. 2 for a 3-2 edge.
Moments later, Otsuka claimed Tech’s second singles match of the evening, battling for a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 win on court five over Stresnakova, moving the match score to 3-3 and leaving the decision on court three. OSU’s Bolsova fought back in the first set to claim the set 7-5, but Hourigan handled the second set, 6-1. Trailing 4-2 in the deciding third set, Hourigan broke serve to move to 4-3. The junior fought back from 15-40 in her service game to the deciding point, but Bolsova went ahead 5-3 and served out the match for a 6-3 third set win, clinching the match for the Cowgirls.
QUOTABLE: “It was a really tough match, obviously, it came down to the last match. I thought that at the end Oklahoma State out-played us at the finish line. We played really well in doubles and Kenya Jones played really well at court four while Nami Otsuka played well at court five, but we couldn’t get going any other places and they out-played us. Well done by Oklahoma State.”– Head Coach Rodney Harmon
UP NEXT: Tech will have four players representing the Yellow Jackets in NCAA individual play. Rasheeda McAdoo and Johnnise Renaud will open singles competition on Wednesday. Two doubles tandems, McAdoo/Renaud and Hourigan/Jones, will open play on Thursday.
No. 9 Oklahoma State vs No. 8 Georgia Tech Results
Match Score: No. 9 Oklahoma State 4, No. 8 Georgia Tech 3
Doubles
1. #29 Kenya Jones/Paige Hourigan (GT) def. #13 Vladica Babic/Carla Tur Mari (OSU), 6-0
2.#23 Johnnise Renaud/ Rasheeda McAdoo (GT) def. #48 Aliona Bolsova/Katie Stresnakova (OSU), 6-2
3.#70 Katarina Adamovic/Viktoriya Lushkova (OSU) vs. Luca Fabian/Nami Otsuka (GT), 5-3, uf
Order of finish: 1,2
Singles
1. #8 Viktoriya Lushkova (OSU) def. #48 Rasheeda McAdoo (GT), 6-0, 6-2
2. Katarina Adamovic (OSU) def. #36 Johnnise Renaud (GT), 6-3, 6-3
3. #73 Aliona Bolsova (OSU) def. #96 Paige Hourigan (GT), 7-5, 1-6, 6-3
4. Kenya Jones (GT) def. #63 Vladica Babic (OSU), 6-2, 6-2
5. Nami Otsuka (GT) def. Katarina Stresnakova (OSU), 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
6. Lena Ruppert (OSU) def. Luca Fabian (GT), 6-4, 6-2
Order of finish: 1,4,6,2,5,3
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