MADISON, Wisc. – The 7th-ranked and fifth-seeded Georgia Tech women’s tennis team rallied from a 2-0 deficit against No. 6 Pepperdine in the ITA National Team Indoor Championship quarterfinals, but could not pull out the win, falling 4-2.
DOUBLES ACTION: For the first time this season, the Jackets dropped the doubles point. Tech’s duo of Victoria Flores and Nami Otsuka rolled to a 6-1 victory over Adrijana Lekaj/Laura Gulbe at No. 3 to give the Jackets the edge in doubles play. But Pepperdine rallied to claim the final two matches for the point. Ashley Lahey/Mayar Sherif Ahmed evened the doubles field with a 6-4 decision at the top seed to bring the doubles point down to court two where Tech’s No. 52 duo of Johnnise Renaud/Ida Jarlskog battled Evgeniya Levashova/Dzina Milovanovic, falling in a hard-fought tiebreak, 7-6 (8).
SINGLES ACTION: Pepperdine took a 2-0 match lead with a straight-set win on court four before Otsuka put the Jackets on the scoreboard. The sophomore pocketed a straight-set match over Milovanic to push the score to 2-1. The teams traded the next two points as Pepperdine took a 3-1 match lead with a win at No. 2 before Jones drew the score to 3-2, picking up a three-set win at the six seed over Lekaj, leaving the deciding point on the final two courts. The match was decided on court one where Pepperdine’s Lahey rebounded from dropping the first set to force a third set, winning a second set tiebreaker. Lahey clinched the match for Pepperdine before Jarlskog concluded her match on court three, where she held match point.
QUOTABLE: “Today was another tough match that lasted over three and a half hours. We were unable to capitalize on five match points at number two doubles to win the doubles point. Paige [Hourigan] played a great singles match against one of the best players in the country. Both Kenya [Jones] and Nami [Otsuka] came through again in singles to pull us close at 3-2. Tomorrow we played the defending national champions, Florida, and we are looking forward to another battle.” – Head Coach Rodney Harmon
UP NEXT: Tech will conclude the ITA National Team Indoor Championship on Sunday in a consolation match against No. 3 Florida. First serve is slated for 4:30 p.m. Florida fell in the quarterfinals to Vanderbilt, 4-0.
No. 7 GEORGIA TECH VS. NO. 6 PEPPERDINE RESULTS
Match Score: Pepperdine 4, Georgia Tech 2
DOUBLES
1. Ashley Lahey/Mayar Sherif Ahmed (PEPP) def. No. 3 Paige Hourigan/Kenya Jones (GT) 6-4
2. Evgeniya Levashova/Dzina Milovanovic (PEPP) def. No. 52 Johnnise Renaud/Ida Jarlskog (GT) 7-6 (8)
3. Victoria Flores/Nami Otsuka (GT) def. Adrijana Lekaj/Laura Gulbe (PEPP) 6-1
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2
SINGLES
1. No. 27 Ashley Lahey (PEPP) def. No. 24 Paige Hourigan (GT) 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2
2. No. 20 Mayar Sherif Ahmed (PEPP) def. Johnnise Renaud (GT) 6-2, 6-3
3. No. 58 Ida Jarlskog (GT) vs. No. 75 Laure Gulbe (PEPP) 2-6, 6-4, 5-4, DNF
4. Evgeniya Levashova (PEPP) def. Victoria Flores (GT) 6-0, 6-2
5. Nami Otsuka (GT) def. No. 82 Dzina Milovanovic (PEPP) 6-3, 6-3
6. Kenya Jones (GT) def. Adrijana Lekaj (PEPP) 6-2, 2-6, 6-1
Order of finish: 4, 5, 2, 6, 1
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