The Jackets tennis program returned to play for dual action in Atlanta the weekend of Jan. 10 and took their first home trip this past weekend of Jan. 17. After a strong fall showing by Tech’s finest where the women’s doubles pairing of junior Alejandra Cruz and sophomore Given Roach claimed the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Championship against the u[sic]GA duo of senior Guillermina Grant and sophomore Aysegul Mert. The foundation is set for the Jackets to put together an impressive dual-action season this spring.
Although neither Jackets team is ranked, they have multiple ranked doubles partners. For the men’s team, the following are ranked: No. 19 junior Christophe Clement and sophomore Krish Arora, No. 44 senior Nate Bonetto and freshman Gianluca Carlini, No. 46 Carlini and Clement, No. 58 senior Gabriele Brancatelli and sophomore Richard Biagiotti and Bonetto is ranked No. 90 in singles play. For the women’s team, Cruz and Roach are ranked No. 54.
Sunday, Jan. 12 saw the men’s program host the University of North Carolina Charlotte 49ers. Clement and Arora took the first-court victory 6-3 over Vasco Prata and Matias Iturbe, and Brancatelli, paired with junior Robert Bauer, claimed the doubles point on a 6-2 win against Frederic Schlossmann and Lance Cochran. Bonetto and Carlini dueled Arsene Pougault and Ivan Dreycopp on the second court as they tied 4-4 with the doubles point already decided.
The Jackets had to call upon their entire singles lineup to pull out this victory — Bonetto fell on the first court after a hard-fought three-set tiebreaker and Carlini couldn’t pull through on an evenly matched fourth court. Clement, Brancatelli, and Arora won commandingly on the second, third and fifth courts respectively to clinch a 5-2 Tech victory. Biagiotti won the Institute’s fifth point in a three-set match on the sixth court, securing victory in thrilling fashion.
The men’s program next traveled to Tuscaloosa to face the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Jackets and the Crimson Tide traded 6-3 matches in doubles, with a second court victory by Bonetto and Carlini over Damien Nezar and Andrii Zimnokh, and a third court loss by Brancatelli and Bauer to Roan Jones and Matias Ponce De Leon. This put extreme emphasis on the first court match between Tech’s Arora and Clement and Alabama’s Enzo Aguiard and Filip Planinsek — the Jackets duo lost the doubles point on a 10-8 tiebreaker in heartbreaking fashion.
Singles play fared no different. Arora took control of the fourth court with a 6-3 and 6-0 win, while Biagiotti carried his momentum from a tough 7-6 first set in a 7-3 tiebreaker into a 6-2 second set win on the sixth court. The rest of the singles matches fell quickly, leading to a 2-5 match loss against Alabama.
The Jackets’ women’s program hosted two matches on Monday, Jan. 13, where they were in complete control against the Mercer University Bears and the Georgia State University Panthers.
The doubles point against Mercer was claimed quickly by the pairings of senior Kate Sharabura and sophomore Scarlett Nicholson in a 6-0 sweep while the ranked duo of Cruz and Roach won the set 6-1. The singles match-ups sang a similar tune as freshman Taly Licht won the fourth court with 6-3 and 6-1 sets, senior Kylie Bilchev took the fifth court on 6-2 and 6-1 sets and Roach clinched the match victory for Tech on a 6-3 and 6-1 routing of her Mercer opponent. Nicholson and Cruz won their matches on the first and second courts afterward while sophomore Meera Jeudason lost after a 10-7 third set. The Jackets dominated the Bears 6-1.
Tech’s confidence carried over into their match against the Panthers with a Cruz and Roach six-game sweep followed shortly by a 6-1 match by Sharabura and Nicholson. Licht stole the first singles match with strong 6-1 and 6-2 sets on the fifth court, and soon the match was over after Nicholson took the first court in 6-2 and 6-1 sets, while freshman Olivia Carneiro won her debut match on the sixth court in 6-3 and 6-1 sets. Once again, Tech took down an Atlanta rival 6-1.
The Jackets were unable to bring this winning confidence into Athens to face the u[sic]GA Bulldogs on Friday, Jan. 17. The Bulldogs controlled the entire match from doubles action into singles — Sharabura and Nicholson lost 1-6 while Cruz and Roach dropped a 0-6 match. Ranked No. 1 in Division 1 tennis, u[sic]GA’s Dasha Vidmanova quickly routed Nicholson in two 6-1 sets, while Aysegul Mert took Sharabura down in 6-4 and 6-3 sets. Although Licht was able to take the first set against her fifth-court opponent, Tech struggled in all other singles matches. The Bulldog’s 4-0 match victory was clinched after Sofia Rojas defeated Carneiro 6-4 and 6-2.
The women’s program returned home eager to cleanse their palate of the loss to u[sic]GA as they hosted the University of Memphis Tigers. The doubles play point was once again claimed through strong performances by the two duos of Roach and Cruz, and Nicholson and Sharabura, as both won a 6-4 set. Licht remained confident in this match to claim her second match win after 6-3 and 6-4 sets on the fourth court. Cruz followed suit in defeating her Memphis opponent 7-5 and 6-1, however, Nicholson lost the first court in similarly scored sets. Tech claimed the match victory after Sharabura won a three-set duel on the third court with a score 4-1.
The upcoming weekend is ITA Kickoff Weekend, where the men’s program will travel to Austin, Texas, and the women’s program is set to play in Malibu, Calif.