Feb. 2, 2007
MADISON, Wis. – Alison Silverio won four of the last five games in her third set to help fourth-seeded Georgia Tech (2-0) to a 4-3 victory over the fifth-seeded Tar Heels of North Carolina (6-2) Friday night in the quarterfinals of the ITA National Indoor Team Championships.
“This really felt like the ACC Tournament, or even the NCAA Tournament, with the intensity level and quality of tennis out here today,” said Georgia Tech head coach Bryan Shelton. “UNC is one of the premier teams in the country, and for us to come out in only our second match of the season and play like this really is a good sign for good things ahead for us.”
The Yellow Jackets, ranked sixth in the nation in the latest polls, will now face top-seeded and three-time defending champion Stanford in the semifinals Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET at the A.C. Nielsen Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Wisconsin, while seventh-ranked UNC meets California at 10 a.m.
“Tomorrow will be a battle, but we really have a shot,” said Shelton. “This team believes that they can do it though. Stanford is obviously the team to beat, so I think that tomorrow will be a lot of fun for us.”
After falling behind 2-0 to begin the third set against UNC’s Sara Anundsen, Tech’s 82nd-ranked Silverio responded by winning the next two games to tie the set at 2-2. After Anundsen took a 3-2 lead, Silverio took control of the match, cruising to a 6-4 third-set victory after the two veterans split the first two sets in tiebreakers.
“It was nice to see Ali step up today,” added Shelton. “We had flashbacks to her sophomore season when she clinched the ACC Tournament for us, and she did it again today against a tough opponent. She acted like a captain out there, and really performed like one, and I believe that our younger players learned a lot from her today.”
No. 95 Christy Striplin and senior Tarryn Rudman gave the Yellow Jackets a 2-1 lead after the Tar Heels earned the first point by sweeping all three doubles matches. Striplin breezed to a 6-3, 6-3 victory over UNC’s 19th-ranked Katrina Tsang at the No. 3 singles slot to tie the match at 1-1 before Rudman notched a 6-1, 7-5 win against Caitlin Collins at the No. 5 position.
After North Carolina tied the match at 2-2, the Jackets regained the lead with a 6-3, 6-2 win by 25th-ranked Kirsten Flower at the No. 2 slot, but UNC’s 73rd-ranked Sanaz Marand recorded a straight-set win at the No. 6 position to tie the match again at 3-3.
Livestats for Saturday’s match will be available at www.itatennis.com.
Tennis Match Results
North Carolina vs Georgia Tech
Feb 02, 2007 at Madison, Wisc.
#6 Georgia Tech 4, #7 North Carolina 3
Singles competition
1. #7 Jenna Long (NC) def. #15 Kristi Miller (GT) 6-4, 6-7, 6-4
2. #25 Kirsten Flower (GT) def. #33 Austin Smith (NC) 6-3, 6-2
3. #95 Christy Striplin (GT) def. #19 Katrina Tsang (NC) 6-3, 6-3
4. #82 Alison Silverio (GT) def. Sara Anundsen (NC) 7-6, 6-7, 6-4
5. Tarryn Rudman (GT) def. Caitlin Collins (NC) 6-1, 7-5
6. #73 Sanaz Marand (NC) def. Amanda McDowell (GT) 6-1, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #16 Sara Anundsen/Jenna Long (NC) def. Whitney McCray/Kristi Miller (GT) 8-6
2. #24 Caitlin Collins/Sanaz Marand (NC) def. Tarryn Rudman/Alison Silverio (GT) 8-3
3. Meg Fanjoy/Austin Smith (NC) def. Amanda Craddock/Kirsten Flower (GT) 8-5
Match Notes:
North Carolina 6-2; National ranking #7
Georgia Tech 2-0; National ranking #6
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (3,5,1,2,6,4)
