March 27, 2013
THE FLATS – Stung by three close losses in its first four Atlantic Coast Conference matches, Georgia Tech goes in search of its first conference win of the spring Thursday when it visits Boston College in a 12 noon match at the Dedham Recreation Center in Dedham, Mass.
The Yellow Jackets (7-10, 0-4 ACC) have lost by a 4-3 score three times, most recently to 45th-ranked NC State on Sunday, as they work around the absence of sophomore Vikram Hundal, who has been out since Feb. 28 with a knee injury. Hundal had compiled a 5-5 record playing No. 2 and 3 singles, but more importantly paired with senior Juan Spir to be one of the nation’s top doubles teams with a 7-2 record.
The Eagles (5-7, 0-2 ACC) also are looking for their first conference win, having been shut out by both Virginia Tech and Clemson.
“We need to find that fourth [team] point,” head coach Kenny Thorne said after the NC State match. “The guys are battling, they’re fighting. We made some mistakes at the wrong time.”
Senior Juan Melian (Las Palmas, Spain) and freshman Nathan Rakitt (Marietta, Ga.) continue to keep the Yellow Jackets competitive, leading the team in singles wins (each with 19) playing at the No. 1 and 4 positions, respectively, and gone 6-4 at the No. 2 doubles spot.
Spir (Medellin, Colombia) has gone 4-1 since moving to the No. 2 singles spot and has paired with sophomore Eduardo Segura (Madrid, Spain to go 4-1 at the top doubles spot.
