March 20, 2007
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech’s sixth-ranked women’s tennis team will head south for a meeting with the No. 39 South Florida Bulls for the first of three matches against Florida schools this week. The Jackets and Bulls will square off Wednesday at 2 p.m. at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts.
“We are excited to be meeting three great opponents, all from the state of Florida, over the next five days, beginning with USF,” said Georgia Tech head coach Bryan Shelton. “All three of these teams are tough, with some very talented athletes, and we are hoping to carry over the momentum that we gained last weekend into this stretch.”
The Yellow Jackets (10-4, 2-1 ACC) recorded a pair of 7-0 wins over Boston College and Maryland last weekend, while South Florida (8-5, 2-0 Big East) is coming off a loss to No. 61 Auburn over the weekend.
Tech and South Florida will be meeting for the fifth time in history this weekend, but haven’t met in over 10 years since the Bulls improved to 4-0 against the Yellow Jackets with an 8-1 win in Tampa on Feb. 8, 1997.
Five players have posted at least 20 singles victories on the year for the Yellow Jackets, including freshman Amanda McDowell, who leads the squad with 24 wins and a 10-1 mark in dual matches. Another freshman, Amanda Craddock, leads the team with 20 doubles wins in 2007, while Craddock and Kristi Miller have both earned nine dual-match victories in doubles play.
Last weekend, Miller became the Yellow Jackets’ all-time leader in career singles wins, eclipsing Jaime Wong’s mark of 101 with a straight-set win against Lana Krasnopolsky. The Yellow Jacket junior also stands sixth with 71 career doubles wins, which is 15 behind the Georgia Tech career leader and current teammate Alison Silverio, who has 86 in her 3.5 years on the Flats.
Following Wednesday’s match the Jackets will return to Atlanta for a pair of key Atlantic Coast Conference matches over the weekend, hosting Miami Saturday at 12 noon and Florida State Sunday at 10 a.m.
