Feb. 9, 2004
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech’s women’s tennis team will host Middle Tennessee State in its first home dual-match of the season at the Bill Moore Tennis Center on Wednesday at 2 p.m. The Jackets enter the contest with a 1-1 record after posting a victory over Minnesota in the third-place match of the Minnesota Court Classic their last time out.
The Jackets boast two undefeated players in singles dual-match play in freshman Lindsey Stauss and senior Maria Nieto. Stauss teamed with freshman Alison Silverio and posted a 2-0 record in doubles play at the Minnesota Court Classic. For her efforts against eighth-ranked William and Mary and No. 40 Minnesota, Stauss was named the ACC Women’s Tennis Performer of the Week.
“One of the keys to our team right now is the freshmen’s play,” said Tech head coach Bryan Shelton. “They have come in and right off the bat have played extremely well. We knew they were going contribute a lot to the team this year, we just didn’t know that they would contribute so high in the lineup. It’s great that they’ve stepped in right away and made themselves impact players.”
Also winning singles matches for the Jackets this dual-match season are sophomores Lyndsay Shosho and Kelly Anderson, senior Sekita Grant, and Silverio. The doubles teams of Anderson and Grant and Nieto and Shosho also stand 1-1 this dual-match season.
“Right now, Lyndsay Shosho is playing extremely well,” said Shelton. Last year she was playing low in the lineup, she’s really handled moving up to the top very well.”
“I think that although it’s still early, I feel like our team is starting to gel a little bit more. I think our team, overall, is definitely on the way up.”
MTSU enters the match owning a 2-1 record, with its only loss coming to the 13th-ranked Wildcats of Kentucky. The Lady Raiders’ top player, No. 54 Manon Kruse, has yet to drop a set this season, as she owns a perfect 3-0 record in singles play. Kruse also teams with Carien Ventor to form the 31st-ranked doubles combination in the nation, and together, the duo stands at 2-1 this season. MTSU’s No. 2 singles player, Jennifer Klaschka, has also gone undefeated this season and is a perfect 3-0 in doubles play with partner Laura McNamara.
“MTSU, in general, is just a dangerous team,” said Shelton, “especially at the top of their lineup, where they’ve got a girl that, in my mind, is one of the best collegiate players in the country. I think they are pretty scrappy all the way through their lineup, and it’s not a team that we can, for a second, take lightly. We need to start out strong with doubles and stay focused, playing one point at a time. This is a good test for us, early on, and with it being the first match at home, we want to establish that home court advantage right off the bat.”
Following the match against Middle Tennessee State the Yellow Jackets will travel to Iowa City to face the Hawkeyes Saturday at 10 a.m.
