KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Georgia Tech women’s tennis concluded the Tennessee Fall Invitational on Sunday morning, collecting five wins between doubles and singles action. For the tournament, the Yellow Jackets posted 15 wins – six doubles and nine singles – over the three-day tournament.
Doubles
Tech won two hard-fought doubles matches to open the Sunday matinee. Kylie Bilchev and Alejandra Cruz concluded their perfect doubles record at the tournament, picking up an 8-7 (2) decision over Virginia’s Melodie Collard and Sara Ziodato. The Jackets opened with a 3-1 advantage before the Cavaliers rallied off four games to take a 5-3 lead. Bilchev and Cruz continued to battle and forced a tiebreak at 7-all. Serving at 2-all in the breaker, Virginia double-faulted, sparking a 5-0 run by the Jackets, winning the tiebreak, 7-2, to clinch the match.
Ruth Marsh and Mahak Jain also remained perfect in doubles play, going 3-0 on the weekend. The Jackets captured an 8-5 triumph over Hibah Shaikh and Meggie Navarro (UVA). Knotted at 4-4, Tech won four of the next five games to seal the match victory.
Singles
Three Yellow Jackets pocketed straight-set singles victories on Sunday. Jain rolled to a 6-2, 6-2 triumph over Shaikh. After winning four-straight games in the first set to take the opener, 6-2, the Jacket raced out to a 4-1 lead in the second set and never looked back.
Cruz also collected a singles victory in the afternoon, defeating Melodie Collard (UVA), 7-5, 4-0, ret. It was a back-and-forth battle in the first set with the opponents at a 5-all standstill before Cruz captured the first set wining the next two games. Cruz won the first four games in the second set before Collard was forced to retire.
Rounding out singles action, Rosie Garcia Gross cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 decision over Navarro. The Jacket took a 5-0 lead in the first set before Navarro got on the scoreboard and carried momentum into the second set.
Georgia Tech returns to action at the ITA National Fall Championships with Carol Lee and Kate Sharabura representing the Yellow Jackets. The finale of the fall season runs Nov. 2-6 in San Diego, Calif.
RESULTS
Doubles
Alejandra Cruz/Kylie Bilchev (GT) def. Melodie Collard/Sara Ziodato (UVA) 8-7 (7-2)
Ruth Marsh/Mahak Jain (GT) def. Hibah Shaikh/Meggie Navarro (UVA) 8-5
Singles
Mahak Jain (GT) def. Hibah Shaikh (UVA) 6-2, 6-2
Alejandra Cruz (GT) def. Melodie Collard (UVA) 7-5, 4-0, ret.
Rosie Garcia Gross (GT) def. Meggie Navarro (UVA) 6-1, 6-1
Competitive Drive Initiative
In a unified endeavor, Georgia Tech, the Georgia Tech Foundation, Georgia Tech athletics and the Alexander-Tharpe Fund have come together to accelerate funding for student-athlete scholarships with the launch of the Competitive Drive Initiative. The initiative kicks off with the Accelerate GT Match Program, where any new gift to the A-T Fund’s Athletic Scholarship Fund made through Dec. 31 will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Georgia Tech Foundation, up to $2.5 million. Should Accelerate GT reach its $2.5 million fundraising goal, the matching gift would result in a $5 million impact for Georgia Tech athletics. To learn more and to contribute online, visit atfund.org/accelerate.
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