April 18, 2014
THE FLATS – Nathan Rakitt and Cole Fiegel picked up singles victories for Georgia Tech, but Clemson pulled out three-set matches at No. 2 and 3 singles to hold off the Yellow Jackets, 5-2, in the regular season finale for both teams Friday night at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex.
Tech (7-14, 1-10 ACC), again playing with just five players, lost its eighth straight match, while the Tigers (19-7, 6-5 ACC) snapped a two-match skid. Both teams look ahead to the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship beginning next Thursday in Cary, N.C. Seedings and pairings will be announced Sunday night.
Rakitt pulled out a three-set victory over Dominique Maden, the nation’s 68th-ranked player, at No. 1 singles. The Yellow Jacket junior from Marietta, Ga., won 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 for his fifth victory against a ranked foe this year. Fiegel, meanwhile, breezed by Austin Ansari, 6-1, 6-4, at No. 4, improving his team-best dual match mark to 12-6 and his overall to 20-14.
The duo teamed up to win their doubles match on court 2, 8-5, over Robert Dudley and Alejandro Augusto, but the Tigers’ 17th-ranked duo of Maden and Hunter Harrington outlasted Tech’s 48th-ranked duo of Carlos Benito and Eduardo Segura, 8-6, on court 1 to clinch the doubles point. The Tigers won the No. 3 match by default.
Fiegel’s win brought Tech within 3-1 in the overall match Friday night, giving the short-handed Yellow Jackets a chance if their Spanish duo of Benito and Segura could pull out their matches on courts 2 and 3. Benito evened his match against No. 54 Hunter Harrington in a second-set tiebreaker, but couldn’t sustain his momentum and lost the third set 6-1, giving the clinching point to Clemson. Segura, meanwhile, took the Tigers’ Alejandro Augusto to a tiebreaker in their third set, but Augusto won the final four points to close out that match.
#20 Clemson 5, #74 Georgia Tech 2April 18, 2014 at Atlanta, Ga. (Ken Byers Tennis Complex)
Singles competition 1. Nathan Rakitt (GT) def. #68 Dominique Maden (CU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 2. #54 Hunter Harrington (CU) def. Carlos Benito (GT) 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 6-1 3. Alejandro Augusto (CU) def. Eduardo Segura (GT) 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3) 4. Cole Fiegel (GT) def. Austin Ansari (CU) 6-1, 6-4 5. Luke Johnson (CU) def. Colin Edwards (GT) 6-1, 6-2 6. Robert Dudley (CU) def. No player (GT), by default
Doubles competition 1. #17 Hunter Harrington/Dominique Maden (CU) def. #48 Carlos Benito/Eduardo Segura (GT) 8-6 2. Nathan Rakitt/Cole Fiegel (GT) def. Robert Dudley/Alejandro Augusto (CU) 8-5 3. Luke Johnson/Austin Ansari (CU) def. No player/No player (GT), by default
Match Notes Clemson 19-7, 6-5 ACC; National ranking #20 Georgia Tech 7-14, 1-10 ACC; National ranking #74 Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,5,4,2,3,1) T-3:24 A-200
