May 25, 2011
STANFORD, CALIF. – Georgia Tech women’s tennis player Jillian O’Neill fell 6-3, 6-3 to California’s Mari Andersson in the first round of the NCAA Singles Championship Wednesday afternoon at the Taube Family Tennis Center on the Stanford University campus.
O’Neill, a junior from Montreal, Quebec, finishes her first season at Georgia Tech with a 24-15 overall singles mark. Playing from the No. 1 position in the Yellow Jacket lineup since mid-March, O’Neill also amassed a 10-4 dual match record and has climbed to No. 32 in the Campbell/ITA College Tennis Rankings. She won five of her final seven matches this season, including wins over two top 20 ranked opponents.
Andersson, a senior from Bastad, Sweden, is ranked 23rd nationally and boasts a 29-11 record in all singles matches and tallied a 19-3 record in dual play.
Andersson came out firing on all cylinders and was able to match every O’Neill comeback attempt. Head Coach Bryan Shelton said Tech’s No. 1 player had a very solid year and that he knows O’Neill will learn from today’s match, continue to work hard in the offseason, and comeback stronger and better in the fall.
O’Neill earned an at-large selection to the singles championship, but drew a very tough slate. Andersson has played mostly from the Bears’ No. 2 position this year behind the No. 1 player nationally, Jana Juricova.
Andersson will now face Southern Cal senior Maria Sanchez, ranked No. 2, in the second round on Thursday.
Fans can follow Tech tennis on Twitter, @GT_WTEN, for instant updates.
— RamblinWreck.com —
