The Tech men’s tennis team hosted in-state rival Georgia State on Saturday, Feb. 27 and took down the Panthers 7-0. Meanwhile, the women’s tennis team traveled to the Midwest to play a pair of top-10 opponents; the No. 14 Jackets fell 4-3 against No. 7 Notre Dame and 6-1 at No. 2 Northwestern.
In men’s play, the Jackets had little trouble taking down the visiting Panthers.
Tech swept all three doubles matches including an 8-1 victory by the team of sophomore Kevin King and freshman Juan Spir.
In singles, King played from the number one position and won a rare 1-2 match as his opponent Calvin Kemp retired after only three games.
Juniors Eliot Potvin and Miguel Muguruza needed three sets each to defeat their opponents but their wins gave the Jackets a 4-0 lead. With only seven possible points, Tech’s lead meant that they had secured the victory over the Panthers.
Tech’s bottom three players still played well and won their matches. Junior Dean O’Brien won his match 6-4, 6-0, and freshmen Magin Ortiga and Spir defeated their opponents to give the Jackets a 7-0 sweep.
The women’s team first faced Notre Dame, looking to pick up their second straight win over the Fighting Irish. Tech upset then-No. 4 Notre Dame 4-3 at home on March 14, 2009.
Tech won the first-flight doubles match as sophomore Irina Falconi and junior Sasha Krupina edged Notre Dame’s Kristy Frilling and Kristen Rafael 8-7. The Irish won the other two doubles matches though, taking the point.
The first singles match to finish saw No. 1 Falconi cruise to a 6-0, 6-2 win over No. 23 Frilling to even the score. Tech senior Amanda McDowell and sophomore Hillary Davis dropped their matches in straight sets, though, and the Irish took a 3-1 lead.
Sophomore Viet Ha Ngo kept Tech in the match with a third-flight 6-4, 6-4 victory over Christine McGaffigan, but sophomore Lynn Blau’s loss on court five secured Notre Dame’s victory. Krupina’s win over Shannon Matthews meant that Tech picked up wins in the top three singles flights but lost the match as a whole.
Against Northwestern, doubles play followed a similar pattern. Falconi and Krupina picked up an 8-6 victory over Elena Chernyakova and Samantha Murray, but the Wildcats won the other two matches to take the point.
The Jackets had less luck in singles play than they did against Notre Dame. Falconi was the only Tech player to win her match, defeating No. 12 Maria Mosolova 6-4, 6-4 on court one. Krupina, Ngo, Blau and Kilborn each lost in straight sets, while McDowell was forced to retire midway through the second set.
The men’s team faces UNC-Wilmington at home on Sunday, March 7. The women’s team returns to action at home on Saturday, March 13 against North Texas.