Photos courtesy of Craig Pessman/Illinois Athletics.
URBANA, Ill. – Georgia Tech collected the doubles point and five singles wins on Friday afternoon to pocket a 6-1 victory over Illinois. In the Atkins Tennis Center, the Yellow Jackets won all six first sets to pave the way to victory and improve to 3-1 on the season.
Doubles
Georgia Tech won a hard-fought doubles point to take an early lead in the match. Illinois took court one, 6-1, for the edge in doubles, but the Yellow Jackets quickly fought back evening play with a win on court two. Kylie Bilchev and Alejandra Cruz stood knotted at 3-3 with Illinois’ Emily Casati and Josie Frazier before winning the next two games for a 5-3 lead. The Fighting Illini won the next game, but Bilchev and Cruz sealed the win at 6-4, forcing the decision for the doubles point to come down to court three.
Competing on court three, Tech’s Mahak Jain and Rosie Garcia Gross held a 5-2 lead over Violeta Martinez and Ashley Yeah. But Illinois chipped away at its deficit, winning the next four games to take a 6-5 lead. The Yellow Jackets forced a tiebreak at 6-6 as the teams went back-and-forth in the breaker. Tech held three match points in the tiebreak before clinching the point, winning 9-7.
Singles
The Jackets and Fighting Illini traded the first two singles matches to finish, setting up a 2-1 tally. Wrapping up first on court three, Jain cruised to a 6-2, 6-4 triumph over Frazier to give Tech a 2-0 match lead. But Illinois got on the scoreboard with a win coming from court six. Kate Sharabura won the first set, 6-3, but Martinez forced a final third set, taking the second, 6-2. Martinez took the match, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, to make it 2-1.
Bilchev collected a three-set win on court three to cushion Tech’s lead to 3-1. Bilchev split the first two sets with Yeah, 6-4, 3-6, but raced out to a 4-0 lead in the deciding third set. Yeah won the next game, but Bilchev pocketed the final two games for a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 victory.
After being a part of the doubles team that clinched the early match lead, Garcia Gross kept her clinching ways going on Friday, sealing the match win for Georgia Tech from court five. Facing Kasia Treiber, Garcia Gross stood at a 5-5 standstill with Treiber before collecting the next two games for a 7-5 opening set win. Trebier evened the match, winning the second set, 7-5, but the Jacket regained momentum early in the final set, opening with a 3-0 lead. Garcia Gross clinched the match at 6-3.
Tech won the final two singles matches to account for the 6-1 score. On court four, Cruz held strong for a 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-2 decision over Megan Heuser, while Carol Lee edged Kate Duong, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4.
Georgia Tech makes the short trip to Northwestern for a Sunday match. First serve is slated for 1 p.m. in the Combe Tennis Center.
RESULTS
DOUBLES
1. No. 19 Kate Duong/Megan Heuser (ILL) def. No. 53 Carol Lee/Kate Sharabura (GT) 6-1
2.Kylie Bilchev/Alejandra Cruz (GT) def. Emily Casati/Josie Frazier (ILL) 6-4
3. Rosie Garcia Gross/Mahak Jain (GT) def. Violeta Martinez/Ashley Yeah (ILL) 7-6 (9-7)
Order of finish: 1,2,3*
*Clinched the doubles point
SINGLES
1.No. 10 Carol Lee (GT) def. Kate Duong (ILL) 7-5, 5-7, 6-4
2. No. 111 Kylie Bilchev (GT) def. No. 70 Ashley Yeah (ILL) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
3. No. 109 Mahak Jain (GT) def. Josie Frazier (ILL) 6-2, 6-4
4. No. 104 Alejandra Cruz (GT) def. Megan Heuser (ILL) 7-6 (7-3), 3-6, 6-2
5. Rosie Garcia Gross (GT) def. Kasia Treiber (ILL) 7-5, 5-7, 6-3
6. Violeta Martinez (ILL) def. Kate Sharabura (GT) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
Order of finish: 3,6,2,5^, 4, 1
^Clinched the overall match
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 Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
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