THE FLATS – No. 11 Georgia Tech won four hard-fought singles matches to claim a 4-3 win Friday night over No. 9 Virginia at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex. The Cavaliers won the doubles point, but the Yellow Jackets took wins on the top four singles courts, clinched by junior Nami Otsuka on court four, to improve to 11-5 overall and 1-1 in ACC play.
DOUBLES ACTION: Virginia opened doubles play with a 6-0 win on court three before Tech evened the field from court one. After No. 17 Kenya Jones and Victoria Flores fell into a 2-0 deficit to No. 41 Chloe Gullickson and Amber O’Dell, the Yellow Jackets regrouped and rattled off six straight games to pocket a 6-2 win on court one.
The doubles point was left to be decided on court two where Gia Cohen and Otsuka faced Natasha Subhash and Sofia Munera. Tech raced out with a 3-0 advantage, but the Cavaliers fought back to take a 4-3 lead. Virginia took a 5-3 advantage before Tech fought off match point to force the match to 5-4. The Cavaliers clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win on court two.
SINGLES ACTION: Virginia grabbed a 2-0 match lead, taking the first singles match on court five in straight-sets, but Tech battled to claim the next two matches to even the score at 2-all. On court three, No. 110 Cohen fought to a 6-4, 6-4 win over No. 89 O’Dell to put the Jackets on the scoreboard. Cohen led 4-1 in the first set before O’Dell won the next three games to tie the set at 4-4, but Cohen won the next two games for a 6-4 opening set win. O’Dell came out with a 4-3 lead in the second set, but Cohen owned the next three games to finish the match with a 6-4 second set win.
No. 71 Flores tied the match from court two, collecting a 7-5, 6-2 win over No. 35 Johanson. In a battle for the first set, Johanson led 5-4 in the opening set, but double faulted to drop the next game as Flores tied the set at 5-5. Flores won the next game and broke serve to win the opening set, 7-5. The junior cruised in the second set, pocketing the match with a 6-2 win to tie the match at 2-2.
Court one witnessed a battle between two top-25 players as No. 23 Jones handed the Jackets their first lead of the match, defeating No. 15 Subhash in straight-sets. Tied at 5-5 in the opening set, Jones held to take a 6-5 lead and broke Subhash to win the first set, 7-5. The second set mirrored the first as the foes stood tied at 3-all before Subhash gained a 4-3 lead. Jones broke back to knot the set at 4-4 and won the next two games to take a 6-4 win and give Tech a 3-2 lead.
Virginia won on court six, 6-4, 6-2, to tie the match at 3-3 and leave the decision on court four where Otsuka faced Vivian Glozman. Otsuka cruised in the first set, 6-2, but Glozman claimed the second set, 6-3, to force a deciding third set. Tied at 2-2 in the final set, Glozman came out with a 5-3 lead, but double-faulted at match point to move the set to 5-4. Otsuka erased her deficit holding serve in the next game, tying the set at 5-all and took a 6-5 lead, breaking Glozman in the next game. Otsuka held serve to clinch the match for the Jackets and take the set, 7-5, to seal a 4-3 win for Georgia Tech.
“Today was a very well-played match between two good teams,” commented head coach Rodney Harmon. “Virginia has a great team and they battled to the finish today. I’m proud of our team for playing strong in singles. It was a great win for us. Now, we prepare for another tough match at Boston College on Sunday.”
UP NEXT: Georgia Tech hits the road for an ACC tilt at Boston College on Sunday. First serve is slated for 10 a.m. at the Manchester Athletic Club in Manchester by the Sea.
RESULTS
Doubles
1-No. 17 Kenya Jones/Victoria Flores (GT) def. No. 41 Chloe Gullickson/Amber O’Dell (UVA) 6-2
2-Natasha Subhash/Sofia Munera (UVA) def. Gia Cohen/Nami Otsuka (GT) 6-4
3-Rosie Johanson/Vivian Glozman (UVA) def. Monika Dedaj/Sophia Sassoli (GT) 6-0
Order of finish: 3,1,2
Singles
1-No. 23 Kenya Jones (GT) def. No. 15 Natasha Subhash (UVA) 7-5, 6-4
2-No. 71 Victoria Flores (GT) def. No. 35 Rosie Johanson (UVA) 7-5, 6-2
3-No. 110 Gia Cohen (GT) def. No. 89 Amber O’Dell (UVA) 6-4, 6-4
4-Nami Otsuka (GT) def. Vivian Glozman (UVA) 6-2, 3-6, 7-5
5-No. 95 Sofia Munera (UVA) def. Rosie Garcia Gross (GT) 6-3, 6-3
6-Chloe Gullickson (UVA) def. Monika Dedaj (GT) 6-4, 6-2
Order of finish: 5,3,2,1,6,4
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the A-T Fund’s Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes, and Athletics Initiative 2020, Georgia Tech athletics’ ongoing $125 million initiative to allow Tech to recruit the nation’s most elite student-athletes, build a better student-athlete once they arrive on The Flats and, ultimately, win! To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
