Sept. 16, 2004
ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech women’s tennis team opens the 2004-05 campaign at the Baylor Invitational, where eight other teams join the Yellow Jackets to form a strong tournament field.
The Yellow Jackets, led by all-conference returnees Kelly Anderson and Lyndsay Shosho and newcomers Kristi Miller and Dasha Potapova, participate in a field comprised of 47 players, including 11 that are currently ranked among the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s top-125. Anderson and Shosho are among those ranked in singles play, as Shosho emerged at No. 46 and Anderson, 55th.
Among the doubles field in the Baylor Invitational is the nation’s top-ranked duo of Maja Mlakar and Dianne Hollands of Arizona, while Hollands is the tournament’s top-ranked singles player at No. 7. Georgia Tech’s duo of Anderson and freshman Esther van Londen achieved a ranking of 59th in doubles entering fall play.
“I’m very excited because I know that we have a lot of talent on this team and I think that the new players are ready to go out there and perform right away,” said Georgia Tech head coach Bryan Shelton. “I am expecting Kristi (Miller) and Dasha (Potapova) to both have good tournaments because they are both playing extremely well right now. I also think that the ones that worked hard over the summer are going to reap some of those benefits early this fall and hopefully establish themselves early as some of the best players in the country.
The Yellow Jacket team is comprised of a trio of juniors (Anderson, Shosho and Kacie Anson), a pair of sophomores (Alison Silverio and Lindsey Stauss) and three newcomers. Potapova begins her first year with the Yellow Jackets and final year of eligibility after transferring from Baylor during the summer, while Miller and van Londen look to begin their collegiate careers this weekend.
“Overall I am excited about going to our first tournament because the team is looking good in practice,” Shelton said. “I think it is going to give us a good early indication of where we are at and also give us a little direction of what we need to work on the rest of the fall.”
Joining Georgia Tech in the tournament are Arizona, Rice, SMU, TCU, Texas, UT-Arlington, the University of Tulsa, and host-school Baylor.
“The competition will be really strong,” said Shelton. “The southwest typically has some good players, and I know that Baylor and Texas both have strong teams, so overall I think that it will be a strong tournament. We will get a chance to see some of the better players in the country and also have an opportunity to get some wins while we are out there.”
