Thursday, March 31, 2011

Men's Tennis Bounces Clemson

King is 13-1 in dual singles matches this year.
Guest Post by Cameron White, author of the blog "The Big Fly".

The Yellow Jacket men’s tennis team secured a convincing 6-1 victory at Clemson on Wednesday. With the win, Georgia Tech improves to 13-2 overall with a 4-1 mark in ACC matches.

A loss in #2 singles by Juan Spir in straight sets was the Yellow Jackets’ only setback on the day. The standout performer was Kevin King in #3 singles, who defeated Clemson’s Gerardo Meza in straight sets. Guillermo Gomez was tested in #1 singles by Clemson’s Derek DiFazio, but pulled out a win by a score of 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

The Yellow Jackets won their remaining singles matches. #4 Eliot Potvin won in three sets, while #5 Magin Ortiga and #6 Dean O’Brien worked overtime to clinch their wins. They also clinched the doubles point. Spir and King won 8-2 in #1 doubles and Potvin and Ryan Smith won 9-7 in #2 doubles.

This weekend, Georgia Tech travels to face Boston College on Friday and also play at Maryland on Sunday.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Jackets Sting NC State and Wake Forest in Post Spring Break ACC Action

Kevin King clinched the Wake Forest win.
After a hard week of training over Spring Break, the Jackets proved they were ready to compete and capitalize on their competition by beating NC State 7-0 and topping the Demon Deacons by a 6-1 score this past weekend.  Tech improves to 12-2 and 3-1 in Atlantic Coast Conference play.  NC State falls to 8-7 and 0-3 in ACC play, while Wake drops to 7-7 and 1-3 in conference matches.

Each Jacket came out on top against the Wolfpack in doubles and singles action.  The closest match was at #5 singles.  Magin Ortiga was able to pull out the win in a third set tiebreaker over Ivan Sanchez Gomez, grabbing the match by a 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (11-9) score.  Guillermo Gomez also had a nail biter at the top slot, sliding by Dominic Hodgson with a tight 7-6 (7-2), 7-5 victory. 

The match with Wake Forest was much tougher than the overall 6-1 score.  The Jackets won 2 singles matches in tight 3rd sets, and Kevin King had to rally over Iain Atkinson at the 3rd position to ensure his 7-6 (7-3), 7-5 win to clinch the match for Georgia Tech.

The Jackets will continue with their ACC play when they travel to face Clemson in Clemson, SC on March 30th.  While on the road, Tech will also face-off with Boston College and Maryland within the same week. 

                      Watch Kevin King battle for his singles victory over Wake's Iain Atkinson:

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Lady Jackets Slide Past #16 Vanderbilt

It came down to a third set at line # 3 singles, but Caroline Lilley rose up to the challenge and provided the Lady Jackets with a 4-3 victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores on March 19th in Nashville at the Currey Tennis Center.  She outlasted Jackie Wu with a nail biting 6-4, 0-6, 7-6 victory over the Commodore junior.

The Jackets had two weeks off of competition from their 4-3 loss to Miami on March 5th and were hungry for a win.  Their hard work over the past few weeks showed that they can compete with anyone in the country, since Vandy was ranked four spots above them in the national polls.
Lilley clinched the match for the Jackets.

Tech got the day started off on the right foot, taking the doubles point by winning at lines 2 and 3.  Caroline Lilley and Lynn Blau quickly earned a convincing 8-3 win at the third doubles slot over Laura Mira and Keilly Ulery.  Jillian O'Neill and Viet Ha Ngo lost a tough 9-7 match at line 1, but Sasha Krupina and Elizabeth Kilborn fired back to win a 9-7 battle of their own at # 2 doubles.

The Lady Jackets was able to squeak out the win with victories at lines 1,3, and 5 in singles action.  Jillian O'Neill shined at #1 with a 7-6, 7-6 triumph over # 91 ranked Alex Leatu.  Elizabeth Kilborn was able to slide past Rachael Dillion at # 5 with a 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory.  Caroline Lilley was finally able to finish off Jackie Wu at the 3rd spot, which clinched the 4-3 win for the Lady Jackets.

Georgia Tech returns back to action on Thursday, March 24th at home in Atlanta to face the # 17 Notre Dame Fighting Irish.  Come watch the Jackets compete to add another win to their overall record and show they are one of the best women's tennis teams in the country!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Men's Tennis Opens ACC Play With Pouncing of Florida State

The Georgia Tech Men proved to be the stronger team against Florida State in their ACC home-opener as the Jackets pounced on the Seminoles by a 6-1 margin. The match was played on Sunday, March 6th at the Bill Moore Tennis Center.

Senior Elliot Potvin.
Ignoring the wind and the overall cold temperatures, the Jackets got off to a strong start by winning the doubles point. The first tandem to finish off a Seminoles pair was Guillermo Gomez and Dean O'Brien at the #3 slot. They pulled away with an 8-4 win. Following in their footsteps were Tech athletes Juan Spir and Kevin King, who got passed their opponents at the #1 position with another 8-4 performance. Ryan Smith and Elliot Potvin also secured a win at the #2 spot with an 8-5 result.

Florida State didn't let the loss of the double's point phase them at first. At # 5 singles, Seminole Jordan Kelly-Houston quickly passed through Magin Ortiga 6-1, 6-0. However, that is as close as Florida State would get to making the match any closer in the overall team score. Kevin King quickly finished his opponent of at the # 4 slot with an identical 6-1, 6-0 score over FSU's Blake Davis. Senior Dean O'Brien, who provided the clinching point for Tech's win over the University of Georgia a couple weeks ago, edged Anderson Reed 7-5, 6-2 at # 6 to put Tech up 3-1.

The final 3 matches proved to be tougher contests, as Elliot Potvin pulled out a 6-4, 7-4 win at line 3 over Seminole Connor Smith. He clinched the match for the Jackets. #12 ranked Guillermo Gomez and # 50 Juan Spir provided tight victories at #1 and 2 as well, with Gomez winning in a third set 6-2 and Spir winning his second set in a tiebreaker.

The Yellow Jackets will face William and Mary in their next contest on Wednesday at the Bill Moore Tennis Center. The team is seeking their 9th win of the season against the Tribe.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Women's Team Falls to #20 Florida State

The Lady Jackets faced Florida State in their ACC opener at the Bill Moore Tennis Center on February 26th in their outdoor facility. Tech fought hard, but the Seminoles proved to be too strong of a team and defeated the Lady Jackets by a 5-2 margin. Tech falls to 5-4 on the season, while Florida State ups their mark to 4-2.

All the matches were close, but Florida State was able to come out as the victor more often than Tech. The Seminoles were able to grab the doubles point, winning at lines #1 and #3. The #1 Tech tandem of Sasha Krupina and Elizabeth Kilborn had a convincing lead, jumping out to 5-0, but Florida State's Noemie Scharle and Federica Suess fired back, clinching the match by an 8-6 score. However, Tech's #2 pair Jillian O'Neill and Viet Ha Ngo did have an impressive win over the #47 ranked doubles team in the country, defeating FSU's Francesca Segarelli and Ruth Seaborne with an easy 8-2 win.
Jillian O'Neill won in singles and doubles against FSU.

Florida State prevailed at lines 1,2,5, and 6 in singles. However, 2 of the 4 matches FSU won were in 3 sets. #61 nationally ranked Jillian O'Neill had a strong win at #3 singles, defeating #32 Noemie Scharle 6-4, 6-1. Senior Sasha Krupina also came out victorious in singles, winning 6-1, 5-7, 6-0 at #4 over Federica Suess.

The Jackets are looking to shake off this loss and even their ACC mark by upending Clemson on Wednesday, March 2nd. The Jackets will travel to Clemson, South Carolina and will be competing at the Hoke Sloan Tennis Center.