March 29, 2009
RALEIGH, N.C. – Senior Christy Striplin clinched the match with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Neils Barringer to lead the sixth-ranked Georgia Tech women’s tennis team to a 6-1 victory over NC State Sunday afternoon at the J. W. Isenhour Tennis Center.
“I thought the girls competed well and worked really hard this weekend,” Georgia Tech head coach Bryan Shelton said. “It was a good victory for us today. We had to be mentally tough out there to deal with the windy conditions and I thought we did that.”
Striplin, the 46th-ranked player in the nation, helped the Yellow Jackets move to 13-5 on the season and 6-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Tech earned its fifth straight win and has won eight of its last nine matches. The Wolf Pack are now 4-13 overall and 1-6 in the ACC.
Eighteenth-ranked Amanda McDowell, who has won eight of her last nine singles matches, continued to show she is back in true form with a 6-2, 7-6(4) win over No. 99 Lenka Hojckova from the No. 2 singles flight.
No. 43 Noelle Hickey defeated Daria Petrovic, 6-3, 6-2 on court three for Tech. Also earning singles victories for the Jackets were freshmen Irina Falconi, on court one, and Viet Ha Ngo, who defeated Jackie Ussery in the sixth flight.
The Yellow Jackets opened the day by taking the doubles point for third time in their last four matches. The Tech duo of Falconi and Krupina got things started with an easy 8-0 win over Barringer and Diana Mortlock in the second flight. McDowell and Lynn Blau would then clinch the point for the Jackets behind an 8-3 win over Petrovic and Pender Sessoms on court three.
“We really want to make winning the double point a habit,” Shelton said. “I hope we can establish some momentum going in to the ACC Tournament next month.”
The women’s tennis team will return to the Bill Moore Tennis Center next weekend for its final homestand of the regular season. Tech will face Boston College on Saturday and will host Maryland on senior day next Sunday afternoon.
