The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Georgia Tech
No. 3 Georgia Tech eliminates No. 19 Women's Tennis from NCAA Championship, 4-2
05.15.2008 | Women's Tennis
TULSA, Okla. -- No. 19 Texas collected the doubles point and a straight-set singles win from sophomore Sarah Lancaster, but it wasn't enough Thursday evening, as No. 3 Georgia Tech (22-5) dealt the Longhorns a 4-2 defeat in the NCAA Championship round of 16 at Tulsa's Michael D. Case Tennis Center. Texas' season ends in the round of 16 at 20-7.
Texas opened the match by taking a hard-fought doubles session to assume a 1-0 lead. Junior Marija Milic and sophomore Vanja Corovic opened authoritatively at first doubles, pounding Sasha Krupina and Kristi Miller by an 8-2 count. The Yellow Jackets' Kirsten Flower and Christy Striplin held off Texas' Maggie Mello and Courtney Zauft at third doubles, 8-6, leaving the doubles point to be decided at the second position.
Texas' Stephanie Davison and Caroline Larsson held a 5-2 lead at second doubles only to see Georgia Tech's Noelle Hickey and Whitney McCray even the tally at five. However, Texas broke Georgia Tech's service in two of the remaining three games, as Davison and Larsson posted an 8-6 victory to clinch the doubles point for the Longhorns.
Sophomore Sarah Lancaster put the Horns up 2-0 after rallying from a 3-0 second-set deficit. Lancaster took the first set, 6-1 before pulling away to take the second, 6-3.
Georgia Tech cut the deficit in half, as the Yellow Jackets' Christy Striplin posted a 6-3, 6-2 win over Caroline Larsson at fourth singles, and Tech evened the tally at two when Miller topped UT's Corovic at first singles, 6-3, 6-4.
Georgia Tech assumed a 3-2 lead when Amanda McDowell outlasted Zauft at second singles, 6-2, 6-4, and the Yellow Jackets sealed the victory when Flower topped Mello at fifth singles, 6-4, 6-4.
Texas' Davison held a 3-1 third-set lead over Tech's McCray before the match was suspended after the Yellow Jackets registered the clinching point.
POST-MATCH QUOTES
HEAD COACH Patty Fendick-McCain
I'm proud of our fight tonight. We've been getting stronger and stronger as the season has progressed. The thing that we're happy to walk away with is that now we have some seasoned veterans on a pretty young team who gave Georgia Tech, the defending NCAA title holder, a fight for its life at the NCAA Championship. I'm really looking forward to next year. Sarah Lancaster played fantastic tonight, and I think Stephanie Davison was going to get one (a win) in the books tonight. We just needed one more, and we couldn't quite get one more. They left everything they had out there today.
On the victory in the doubles session: We have been playing very well at No. 1 doubles, very solid ... they've just been destroying everyone lately. We haven't known which team out of Nos. 2 and 3 doubles would have a great day, but it has been fun to watch them all. We never feel like we're out of it in the doubles matches. We had it really amped up in doubles. This is a tough Longhorns team, and I think Georgia Tech is pretty happy to have escaped that match.
NCAA Women's Tennis Championship - Round of 16
No. 3 Georgia Tech 4, No. 19 Texas 2
Doubles - Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2
1. Corovic/Milic (UT) def. Krupina/Miller (GT) - 8-2
2. Davison/Larsson (UT) def. Hickey/McCray (GT) - 8-6
3. Flower/Striplin (GT) def. Mello/Zauft (UT) - 8-6
Singles - Order of Finish: 6, 4, 1, 2, 5
1. Kristi Miller (GT) def. Vanja Corovic (UT) - 6-3, 6-4
2. Amanda McDowell (GT) def. Courtney Zauft (UT) - 6-2, 6-4
3. Stephanie Davison (UT) vs. Whitney McCray (GT) - 4-6, 6-2, 3-1, susp.
4. Christy Striplin (GT) def. Caroline Larsson (UT) - 6-3, 6-2
5. Kirsten Flower (GT) def. Maggie Mello (UT) - 6-4, 6-4
6. Sarah Lancaster (UT) def. Noelle Hickey (GT) - 6-1, 6-3
