Oct. 21, 2011
GAINESVILLE, FLA. – The Georgia Tech women’s tennis team posted a stellar 6-1 singles record on day one of the USTA/ITA Southeast Regional Championships being played at the Ring Tennis Complex on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Fla.
The Yellow Jackets also finished with a near perfect 5-1 mark in doubles action on the opening day of the event.
Senior Jillian O’Neill, ranked No. 21 in the Campbell/ITA Division I Tennis Rankings, topped Kennesaw State’s Vera Shkundina, 6-4, 7-5. O’Neill, the tournament’s No. 3 seed will face USF’s Loreto Alonso in a second round match on Saturday.
Senior Viet Ha Ngo, ranked No. 44, defeated Florida International’s Karyn Guttormsen, 6-1, 6-4, and will take on North Florida’s Lorena Aviles in round two. Classmate Caroline Lilley, ranked No. 69, cruised past FIU’s Giuletta Boha, 6-1, 6-0, on Friday and will play Fanny Fracassi of USF in Saturday’s second round.
Lynn Blau, a senior ranked No. 124, beat a third FIU Golden Panther with a 6-3, 6-0, win over Lisa Johnson and will challenge Florida State’s Mia Vriens in the second round. Junior Elizabeth Kilborn easily captured a 6-1 first set victory but had to battle to a 7-6(5) second set win over Miami’s Brittany Dubins to advance to Saturday’s second round against Florida International’s Sarah McLean.
Sophomore Muriel Wacker earned a hard three-set win over USF’s Kate Parker, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 and will face Georgia’s Kate Fuller on Saturday. The lone blemish on Tech’s opening day singles card came when 37th-ranked Olivia Janowicz of Florida defeated Yellow Jacket freshman Jasmine Minor, 6-1, 6-1. Minor will face USF’s Lucie Rey in a singles draw consolation match on Saturday.
Tech’s sixth-ranked doubles team of Lilley and O’Neill, seeded No. 1 in the event, defeated Georgia State’s team of Masa Grgan and Tereza Larova, 8-3, in their opening match before over-powering North Florida’s Lorena Aviles and Aline Berkenbrock, 8-1, in the second round. The Yellow Jackets’ top pair will face Florida’s team of Olivia Janowicz and Caroline Hitimana on Saturday.
The Jacket team of Blau and Kilborn battled to a pair of doubles wins with an opening round victory over Georgia State’s Maryna Kozachenko and Abigail Tere-Apisah, 8-6, and topped North Florida’s Melanie Aquirre and Danielle Day, 8-6. The Jacket side will take on Georgia’s No. 20 ranked team and second-seeded team of Kate Fuller and Lauren Herring on Saturday.
Ngo and Wacker tallied a first round doubles win over Stetson’s Diana Bukujeva and Jen Miller, 8-3, but fell to Florida State’s duo of Ruth Seaborne and Carolina De Los Santos, 8-4, in the second round.
Saturday’s action will begin at 9 a.m. with the doubles quarterfinals, followed by main draw singles second round at approximately 10:30. The singles consolation draw will begin around 12:30 p.m. to be followed by the main draw singles round of 16.
For live updates throughout the day, fans can click here.
Fans are encouraged to follow Georgia Tech women’s tennis on Twitter, @GT_WTEN, and like the Yellow Jackets on Facebook, GTWomensTennis, for an inside look at the program.
Friday Results:
Singles Round 1:
No. 21 Jillian O’Neill (GT) def. Vera Shkundina (KSU), 6-4, 7-5
No. 37 Olivia Janowicz (UF) def. Jasmine Minor (GT), 6-1, 6-1
No. 44 Viet Ha Ngo (GT) def. Karyn Guttormsen (FIU), 6-1, 6-4
No. 69 Caroline Lilley (GT) def. Giuletta Boha (FIU), 6-1, 6-0
No. 124 Lynn Blau (GT) def. Lisa Johnson (FIU), 6-3, 6-0
Elizabeth Kilborn (GT) def. Brittany Dubins (UM), 6-1, 7-6(5)
Muriel Wacker (GT) def. Kate Parker (USF), 2-6, 6-3, 7-5
Doubles Round 1:
No. 6 Caroline Lilley/Jillian O’Neill (GT) def. Masa Grgan/Tereza Larova (GST), 8-3
Lynn Blau/Elizabeth Kilborn (GT) def. Maryna Kozachenko/Abigail Tere-Apisah (GST) 8-6
Viet Ha Ngo/Muriel Wacker (GT) def. Diana Bukujeva/Jen Miller (SU), 8-3
Doubles Round 2:
No. 6 Caroline Lilley/Jillian O’Neill (GT) def. Lorena Aviles/Aline Berkenbrock (UNF) 8-1
Lynn Blau/Elizabeth Kilborn (GT) def. Melanie Aquirre/Danielle Day (UNF) 8-6
Ruth Seaborne/Carolina De Los Santos (FSU) def. Viet Ha Ngo/Muriel Wacker (GT), 8-4
Southeast Region School Codes:
UCF = Central Florida
FAMU = Florida A&M
FGCU = Florida Gulf Coast Univ.
FIU = Florida International Univ.
FSU = Florida State
UF = Florida
GSU = Georgia Southern
GST = Georgia State
GT = Georgia Tech
UGA = Georgia
JU = Jacksonville
KSU = Kennesaw State
UM = Miami
UNF = North Florida
USF = South Florida
SU = Stetson
— RamblinWreck.com —
