Feb. 10, 2008

No. 4 Georgia Tech Women Knock Off No. 1 Stanford with 4-3 Comeback Win

MADISON, Wis. - Seventh-ranked Kristi Miller pulled off a three-set victory to complete No. 4 Georgia Tech's 4-3 comeback win over No. 1 Stanford (3-1) in the semifinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, which are being contested at Nielsen Stadium on the campus of the University of Wisconsin.

The Jackets are one of just two teams to defeat Stanford in the last five years, and the only team to do so twice during that span. Georgia Tech also stopped the Cardinal with an identical 4-3 win in last year's semifinal match at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.

With the win, the Yellow Jackets advance to the finals of the premier national indoor tournament for the second-straight year and will meet No. 3 Northwestern in what will be a rematch of last weekend's match, which resulted in Tech's first loss in nearly a year.

The Cardinal started the afternoon by picking up the doubles point with wins at the Nos. 1 and 2 doubles lines after the Yellow Jacket duo of Christy Striplin and Noelle Hickey knocked off Celia Durkin and Carolyn McVeigh, 8-2, at the No. 3 spot.

Vallverdu, Kissell Lead No. 9 Miami Past No. 7 Cal

MADISON, Wis. - Michaela Kissell won her ninth-straight match to open the season and No. 29 Laura Vallverdu picked up her second-consecutive win over a Top-40 opponent at the No.1 position as the ninth-ranked University of Miami women's tennis team defeated No. 7 California, 4-3, in quarterfinal consolation action Saturday at the ITA National Women's Team Indoor Championships at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.

"We had such an incredible team effort today from the players to the coaching staff," head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. "I am so proud of this program and where we are situated so early in the season. We need to continue improving every day and shooting for May as our time to shine."

A day after a win over No. 39 Lindsay Burdette of top-ranked Stanford in the top position Friday, Vallverdu continued to impress Saturday with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory over No. 10 Susie Babos of Cal to give UM a 3-1 lead. Just prior to that, Kissell, who has established herself early on as a force in UM's No. 3 spot, won her second match against a ranked opponent over weekend with a 6-1, 6-4 win over No. 54 Cristina Visico.

No. 22 FSU Moves To 5-0 With Wins Over UCF, FAMU

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - In their second double-header in less than a week, No. 22-ranked Florida State women's tennis squad continued to roll over the competition with a 7-0 victory over Central Florida and a 6-0 victory over Florida A&M. The Seminoles will close out the weekend against Jacksonville tomorrow, Sunday Feb. 10 at 1:00 p.m.

In FSU's first match of the day against regional rivals UCF, the Seminoles jumped off to an early 1-0 lead with a doubles sweep. Senior Tapiwa Marobela and junior Ania Rynarzewska notched the Seminoles' first doubles victory with an 8-2 defeat of UCF's Jennifer Carati and Elvira Serrot. Sophomore duo Lauren Macfarlane and Jessica Wente continued their eight-match winning streak, defeating Jenny Frisell and Kyla McNicol 8-3.

The Seminoles continued to power past the Golden Knights in singles, as No. 16-ranked freshman Katie Rybakova trounced Frisell 6-2, 6-1 for FSU's second point. Macfarlane secured the third point with a dominant 6-0, 6-0 victory over Serrot. Walter won her 11th-straight match, defeating McNicol 6-1, 6-3 to give the Seminoles their fourth win of the season.

Virginia Tech Beats Old Dominion 5-2 in First Meet of the Day

BLACKSBURG, Va. - The Virginia Tech women's team won the first of two matches Saturday afternoon, 5-2, over Old Dominion at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center on the Virginia Tech campus. Tech will host Elon later today at 3 p.m.

Tech (4-1), ranked No. 64 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association preseason national poll, took the doubles for the first point of the day then won four of the six singles contests for the victory.

In singles, J.J. Larson (Sr., Orchard Park, N.Y.) made quick work at No. 6 of Jana Kubicikova, 6-0, 6-1, and Yasmin Hamza (Fr., Cairo, Egypt) gave the Hokies a 3-0 advantage with her 6-0, 6-2, victory at No. 2 over Barbara Costa. Old Dominion got on the board with as Joanna Dobrowolska defeated Abbey Walker (Jr., Lancaster, S.C.), 6-2, 6-2, at No. 5, but Tech clinched the contest as Jessica Long (Sr., Elizabethtown, Pa.) defeated Daniela Cohen in the No. 3 match, 6-3, 6-1.

Hokies Sweep Elon on Saturday Afternoon

BLACKSBURG, Va. - The Virginia Tech women's tennis team earned its first sweep of the season Saturday afternoon as the Hokies defeated Elon, 7-0, at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center on the Virginia Tech campus after earlier in the day defeating Old Dominion, 5-2.

No. 64 Tech (5-1) jumped out to a 1-0 lead over the Phoenix by winning all three of the doubles matches. A pair of 8-3 victories were recorded in the Hokies' favor, as Walker/James beat Tucci/Wahl and Cramp/Beermann defeated Kensrue/Graybill. Brouwer/Hamza pulled out the win against Bailey/Milian in the No. 1 contest by a score of 8-5.

In singles at No. 4, Holly Johnson (Fr., Tallahassee, Fla.) easily handled Jennifer Tucci, 6-0, 6-2, and Natalie Kretzer (Jr., Chesterfield, Va.) followed closely thereafter with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Hayley Wahl to give Tech the 3-0 lead. For the second time of the day, Jessica Long (Sr., Elizabethtown, Pa.) clinched the victory for the Hokies as she beat Deanna Bailey, 6-3, 6-4 in the No. 1 match.

No. 3 Northwestern Stops No. 14 UNC, 4-0

MADISON, Wis. - No. 14 North Carolina saw its dream run at the ITA Indoor Nationals end in the semifinals, as No. 3 Northwestern dealt the Tar Heels a 4-0 loss Saturday at the University of Wisconsin's Nielsen Tennis Stadium. The setback ends the tournament for UNC (6-2), which returns home to face No. 5 Florida on Feb. 17.

Northwestern (6-0) took control of the match early with a convincing win in the doubles point. Maria Mosolova and Nazlie Ghazal defeated Austin Smith and Meg Fanjoy, 8-2, at No. 3, while Alexis Conill and Georgia Rose dropped Laura Reichert and Katrina Tsang, 8-3, at No. 2 to clinch the point.

The Wildcats continued their impressive play in singles action, winning the first three matches in straight sets to secure the victory. No. 20 Samantha Murray defeated No. 72 Smith at No. 3, 6-1, 6-0, before Suzie Matzenauer made it 3-0 with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Fanjoy at No. 6.

UCLA 5, Clemson 2

More to follow...