THE FLATS – No. 15 Vanderbilt took the doubles point and three singles matches to clinch a 4-2 victory over No. 9 Georgia Tech Sunday morning at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex. The loss caps a competitive stretch for the Yellow Jackets and moved Tech to 7-4 on the season.
DOUBLES – Tech’s No. 5 doubles team of Kenya Jones and Victoria Flores wrapped up first on court one, taking a 6-2 decision over Anna Ross and Holly Staff. The Jackets broke to take a 2-1 lead over the Commodores and never looked back. Minutes later, Vanderbilt evened the doubles field on court three. Christina Rosca and Anessa Lee won the first five games over Sophia Sassoli and Monika Dedaj, and held off a late rally by the Jackets, taking the match 6-2. The doubles point was left to be decided on court two where Emma Kurtz and Marcella Cruz held a 4-3 lead over Gia Cohen and Ruth Marsh. The Commodores held serve to take a 5-3 edge, but the Jackets fought off a pair of match points in their service game to make it 5-4. Vanderbilt clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win.
SINGLES – Vanderbilt cushioned its lead winning the first two singles matches. Anessa Lee took a 6-2, 6-1 win over Dedaj on court five before No. 20 Rosca edged Cohen on court three, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5).
Tech pulled within one, 3-2, grabbing matches on courts one and four. No. 13 Jones won a hard-fought match over Kurtz at the top spot to put the Jackets on the scoreboard. Jones trailed 5-2 in the opening set before rallying back to force a tiebreak at 6-all. Jones and Kurtz were knotted at 4-4 in the tiebreak before Jones won the next three points to take the first set, 7-6 (7-4). Kurtz won the second set, 6-1, and took a 2-0 lead in the deciding third set before Jones regrouped and answered back, grabbing a 3-2 lead. She took the final set, 6-3, to setup a 3-1 match score.
Competing on court four, Rosie Garcia Gross gave Tech its second point, topping Holly Staff in three sets. Garcia Gross reset after dropping the first set, 6-1, and came out with a 5-0 lead in the second set. After Staff battled back, the opponents stood tied at 5-5 in the tiebreak. Garcia Gross won the next two points to take the set, 7-6 (7-5) and raced out with a 3-1 lead in the final set. Staff won the next two games, but Garcia Gross pocketed the final three to take the match, 1-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3.
Two matches remained as Carol Lee battled Marcella Cruz on court six and Flores faced Ross on court two. Court six split the first two sets and Lee opened the third with a 3-1 advantage. Cruz answered, trying the set at 5-5 and won the next two games to clinch the match from the six seed. Flores went unfinished on court two against Ross, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 4-4.
UP NEXT – Georgia Tech opens Atlantic Coast Conference play next weekend, welcoming Miami and Florida State on Feb. 20 and 21, respectively.
RESULTS
DOUBLES
1. No. 5 Kenya Jones/Victoria Flores (GT) def. Anna Ross/Holly Staff (VANDY) 6-2
2. Emma Kurtz/Marcella Cruz (VANDY) def. Gia Cohen/Ruth Marsh (GT) 6-4
3. Christina Rosca/Anessa Lee (VANDY) def. Sophia Sassoli/Monika Dedaj (GT) 6-2
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2
SINGLES
1. No. 13 Kenya Jones (GT) def. Emma Kurtz (VANDY) 7-6 (7-4), 1-6, 6-3
2. No. 56 Victoria Flores (GT) vs. Anna Ross (VANDY) 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 4-4, DNF
3. No. 20 Christina Rosca (VANDY) def. No. 123 Gia Cohen (GT) 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
4. Rosie Garcia Gross (GT) def. Holly Staff (VANDY) 1-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3
5. Anessa Lee (VANDY) def. Monika Dedaj (GT) 6-2, 6-1
6. Marcella Cruz (VANDY) def. Carol Lee (GT) 6-2, 4-6, 7-5
Order of finish: 5, 3, 1, 4, 6
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the A-T Fund’s Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes, and Athletics Initiative 2020, Georgia Tech athletics’ ongoing $125 million initiative to allow Tech to recruit the nation’s most elite student-athletes, build a better student-athlete once they arrive on The Flats and, ultimately, win! To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
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