THE FLATS – On its home court, No. 33 Georgia Tech women’s tennis collected a hard-fought doubles point and four singles victories to uproot No. 21 Wake Forest, 5-2, Friday afternoon. The win pushed the Yellow Jackets to 9-4 overall and 6-1 in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
DOUBLES
Georgia Tech gained momentum early in the contest, battling for a tight doubles point, pulling out the early match lead with victories on courts one and three. Wake Forest gained the early advantage, winning on court two, but Tech’s No. 12 duo of Carol Lee and Kate Sharabura continued their impressive season at the top spot. The Jackets opened against No. 8 Brooke Killingsworth and Anna Brylin with a 3-1 lead before the Demon Deacons rallied back to 4-3. The Jackets held strong, sealing a 7-5 victory to even the doubles field and leave the decision on court three.
On court three, Gia Cohen and Ruth Marsh stood on serve at 2-all with Saby Nihalani and Peyton Pesavento before opening a 4-2 advantage. But WFU battled back, forcing a tiebreak at 6-6. The Jackets gained the early lead in the tiebreak and never looked back, sealing the victory in the breaker, 7-3, to clinch the doubles point and 1-0 match lead for Georgia Tech.
SINGLES
In singles action, Cohen cushioned Tech’s lead, quickly collecting a straight-set victory over Samantha Martinelli on court five, 6-4, 6-3. Lee extended Tech’s lead to 3-0 from the top position shortly after. Facing No. 52 Carolyn Campana, Lee cruised in the opening set and dominated the second set, 6-3, 6-2 for her 12th dual singles victory of the season.
The match was clinched from court six where Sharabura pocketed a straight-set win over Nihalani. The freshman Yellow Jacket began the first set claiming an early lead, sealing the opener, 6-4, She grabbed a 4-2 edge in the second set before Nihalani rallied back, but Sharabura held strong for a 7-5 second set win, clinching the match at 4-0 for Georgia Tech.
Wake Forest took the next two singles matches to finish on courts four and two to get on the scoreboard, but Ava Hrastar closed out the match with a victory on court three. Facing Anna Brylin, Hrastar earned a hard-fought, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (6), 1-0 (10-5) decision to account for the final 5-2 score.
UP NEXT
Georgia Tech concludes this four-match homestand on Sunday, welcoming No. 2 NC State. First serve is slated for 2 p.m. at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex.
DOUBLES
1. No. 12 Carol Lee/Kate Sharabura (GT) vs. No. 8 Brooke Killingsworth/Anna Brylin (WFU) 7-5
2. No. 76 Samantha Martinelli/Casie Wooten (WFU) def. No. 13 Ava Hrastar/Kylie Bilchev (GT) 6-4
3. Gia Cohen/Ruth Marsh (GT) def. Saby Nihalani/Peyton Pesavento (WFU) 7-6 (3)
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
SINGLES
1. No. 77 Carol Lee (GT) def. No. 52 Carolyn Campana (WFU) 6-3, 6-2
2. No. 74 Casie Wooten (WFU) def. No. 90 Kylie Bilchev (GT) 1-6, 7-6 (7-5), 1-0 (10-4)
3. Ava Hrastar (GT) def. Anna Brylin (WFU) 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (8-6), 1-0 (10-5)
4. Brooke Killingsworth (WFU) def. Mahak Jain (GT) 7-5, 6-3
5. Gia Cohen (GT) def. Samantha Martinelli (WFU) 6-4, 6-3
6. Kate Sharabura (GT) def. Saby Nihalani (WFU) 6-4, 7-5
Order of finish: 5, 1, 6, 4, 2, 3
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 Support The Swarm Fund, which helps Georgia Tech athletics offset the significant financial challenges associated with Covid-19, and 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.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on Twitter (@GT_WTEN), Instagram (GT_WTEN), Facebook (Georgia Tech Women’s Tennis) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com
