Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Georgia Tech
Top-Ranked Yellow Jackets Survive Wildcats, 4-3
2/12/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Feb. 12, 2007
Results
to watch Rose and Prousis in action.
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Sixth-ranked Northwestern captured the doubles point, but the top-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets captured four of six singles matches to down the Wildcats Monday at a packed Combe Tennis Center, 4-3. Sophomore Georgia Rose (Mettawa, Ill./North Shore Country Day) continued her stellar play -- downing Tech's 25th-ranked Kirsten Flower in straight sets at No. 1 singles.
The loss drops Northwestern to 5-2 overall while Georgia Tech improves to 6-1.
The 'Cats captured the crucial doubles point in dramatic fashion. NU pulled out to early leads on all three courts, but the top-ranked Yellow Jackets closed on every one.
At No. 3, Nazlie Ghazal (Temecula, Calif./Chaparral) and Keri Robison (Decatur, Ill./Keystone National) broke Amanda Craddock and Kirsten Flower at 1-0 and held for a 3-0 lead. However, the Jackets brought the match to 5-4 before the 'Cats used another break to go up 6-4. Tech broke for 6-5, but the Wildcats pulled away late for the 8-6 win.
At No. 1, Whitney McCray and Kristi Miller downed Rose and senior Alexis Prousis (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest), 8-6. The teams exchanged breaks until the 'Cats held to go up 3-1. Tech came back to make the score 6-6 before taking the next two games.
The No. 2 doubles had the enthusiastic crowd following every point with the crucial doubles tally on the line. Samantha Murray (Altrincham, England/Altrincham Grammar) and Lauren Lui (Houston, Texas/Kinkaid) jumped out to an early 4-1 lead over Tarryn Rudman and Alison Silverio before Tech stormed back to take a 7-4 lead.
The duo held off one match point at 7-4 and made the score 7-5 with the break. They held for 7-6 and scored another break to tie the match at 7-7. Rudman and Silverio broke back and served for the match and the doubles point at 8-7, but the 'Cats held off another two match points and won the game to force a third-set tiebreaker.
It was all Northwestern in the seven-pointer as the 'Cats pushed to a 6-1 lead and won the breaker, 7-2, to give NU the 1-0 lead.
Georgia Tech controlled singles, pulling ahead to a 3-1 lead with wins at No. 5, No. 3 and No. 2. Tech's 64th-ranked Amanda Craddock downed Ghazal at No. 5 in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1. Christy Striplin topped Prousis, 6-4, 6-0, at No. 3, and 15th-ranked Kristi Miller defeated Murray at No. 2, 6-4, 6-3.
NU closed the gap with a win at No. 1 singles by Rose. The sophomore cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 victory over 25th-ranked Kirsten Flower to make the overall score 3-2.
After dropping the first set, 6-1, Lui fought back in the second to tie the score at 5-5 after being down 4-1 early at No. 4. However, 82nd-ranked Alison Silverio held serve and broke Lui to take the set, 7-5, and clinch the dual for the top-ranked Yellow Jackets.
Robison, playing at No. 6, topped 52nd-ranked Whitney McCray in straight-sets, 7-5, 6-4, to make the final score 4-3 in favor of Georgia Tech.
The 'Cats face their second of three ranked opponents this week when they welcome 10th-ranked Baylor to the Combe Tennis Center Friday at 3 p.m. Seventh-ranked North Carolina visits Evanston at 11 a.m. Sunday morning.
