Jan. 30, 2014
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech’s men’s tennis schedule continues to heat up, despite the weather, and the Yellow Jackets face their biggest test of the young season when they host 17th-ranked South Carolina at 5 p.m. Friday at the Ken Byers Tennis complex.
The Yellow Jackets will put their 3-0 record on the line against the Gamecocks, who are 3-1 and went 1-1 against a pair of top-30 teams last weekend in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend event. Tech scored a solid 4-2 win over No. 75 North Florida in its last outing on Jan. 25.
Admission to the match is free, and parking is available along Fowler Street, 8th Street and the McCamish Pavilion lot.
“South Carolina is a good opportunity for us being a top 20 team,” said head coach Kenny Thorne. “We played a few teams two weekends ago about the same level and needed to just convert a few more times in the third set to get the wins. We are getting better and it will be a good test. It is a 5 p.m. match so people need to miss traffic and stick around the city and watch some great tennis.”
Three Jackets are undefeated in dual-match play this spring, led by freshman Carlos Benito (Madrid, Spain) who is 3-0, two of those wins at the No. 2 position, and also scored a victory over a ranked Ole Miss player in the recent MLK Invitational. Benito leads the Jackets overall with a 15-9 singles record.
Sophomores Nathan Rakitt (Marietta, Ga.) and Casey Kay (Atlanta, Ga.) each are 2-0. Rakitt plays the No. 1 position, while Kay has played both No. 4 and 5. Another freshman, Cole Fiegel (Alachua, Fla.), is 2-1 for the Jackets playing the fourth and fifth spots in the order.
Benito and junior Eduardo Segura (Madrid, Spain) have been Tech’s top doubles team, going 5-1 this spring and 3-0 in dual matches.
