THE FLATS – after being dealt a setback in match one against Mississippi State, Georgia Tech women’s tennis cruised to victory over Rutgers, splitting Saturday’s doubleheader at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex.
After falling 4-2 to the unbeaten Mississippi State to start the day, Tech rallied in match two, rolling to a 6-1 win over the Scarlett Knights. The Jackets’ win over Rutgers ended the New Jersey squad’s perfect season at 4-0.
Georgia Tech 2, Mississippi State 4
Doubles action against the Bulldogs featured three intense battles, with Eleni Karantali and Given Roach picking up the first win in a 7-5 set. After Taly Licht and Olivia Carneiro fell 7-6 in their close matchup, Alejandra Cruz and Seri Nayuki earned victory in a close, lengthy tiebreak match 7-6 (10-8) to capture the doubles point for the Yellow Jackets.
Cruz had Tech’s lone singles win over the Bulldogs, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-5) over Gianna Oboniye. Both Licht and Roach forced a third set but the Jackets were unable to get past Mississippi State Saturday.
Doubles
- Alejandra Cruz/Seri Nayuki (GT) def. Chalotte Kempenaers-Pocz/Gianna Oboniye (MSU) 7-6 (10-8)
- Thessy Ntondele Zinga/Emma Cohen (MSU) def. Taly Licht/Olivia Carneiro (MSU) 7-6 (7-5)
- Eleni Karantali/Given Roach (GT) def. Athina Pitta/Mia Robinson (MSU) 7-5
Order of finish: 3,2,1
Singles
- No. 47 Alejandra Cruz (GT) def. Gianna Oboniye (MSU) 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-5)
- Thessy Ntondele Zinga (MSU) def. Taly Licht (GT) 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 6-2
- Given Roach (GT) vs. Chiara Di Genova (MSU) 2-6, 7-6 (9-7), 2-2
- Carolina Troiano (MSU) def. Olivia Carneiro (GT), 6-3, ret.
- Mia Robinson (MSU) def. Seri Nayuki (GT) 6-3, 6-3
- Athina Pitta (MSU) def. Sabritt Dozier (GT) 6-1, 6-3
Order of finish: 6,5,4,1,2
Georgia Tech 6, Rutgers 1
Just like the doubles matches against Mississippi State, Tech secured the doubles point courtesy of wins from the duos of Cruz/Nayuki and Roach/Karantali, 6-3 and 6-2, respectively. Cruz and Nayuki’s victory came against the 64th-ranked duo in the country.
Cruz won the first singles match against the Scarlett Knights, 6-3, 6-1. Moments later, Karantali secured victory 6-1, 7-5. Roach also took her match in two sets, 7-5, 6-3, to seal the match victory for the Yellow Jackets. After dropping her first set 6-3, Sabritt Dozier stormed back with sets of 6-1 and 6-2 to earn her singles match win. Nayuki capped off the night with a three-set win, securing the 6-1 result for Tech
Doubles
- Alejandra Cruz/Seri Nayuki (GT) def. No. 64 Mai Nguyen/Zuzanna Frankowska (RU) 6-3
- Given Roach/Eleni Karantali (GT) def. Naomi Karki/Karina Jumazhonva (RU) 6-2
Order of finish: 1,2
Singles
- No. 47 Alejandra Cruz (GT) def. Mai Nguyen (RU) 6-3, 6-1
- Given Roach (GT) def. Zuzanna Frankowska (RU) 7-5, 6-3
- Seri Nayuki (GT) def. Karina Jumazhonva (RU) 6-4, 2-6, 7-5
- Sabritt Dozier (GT) def. Zeynep Ilker (RU) 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
- Eleni Karantali (GT) def. Stella Schmitz (RU) 6-1, 7-5
Order of finish: 1,5,2,4,3
Tech opens ACC action on the west coast starting Friday, Feb. 20 at No. 22 Stanford, followed by a match Sunday, Feb. 22 at No. 14 California.
The Jackets return to The Flats Friday, Feb. 27 to face Louisville at 4 p.m. Admission is free for all 2026 Georgia Tech women’s tennis matches.
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
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