University of South Florida
Georgia Tech
Duch Upset Of No. 21 Flower Not Enough To Carry Bulls Past Yellow Jackets
March 21, 2007 | Women's Tennis
TAMPA, Fla. (March 21, 2007) ? Despite senior Gabriela Duch's defeat of Georgia Tech's Kirsten Flower, the No. 6 Yellow Jackets prevailed 5-2 in a hard-fought, four-hour affair Wednesday to send the No. 39 University of South Florida women's tennis team to its third straight loss.
Duch claimed her match over Flower -- the 21st ranked singles player in the nation -- in straight sets on court five. The 7-5, 7-5 victory gives Duch her biggest win of the year, and 10th overall in dual season play.
The Bulls (8-6) seized their other point at the No. 2 spot, where junior Courtney Vernon rallied from a game down in the third set to push the match to a tie-break. Vernon then closed the door on the Jackets' Alison Silverio to notch her team-leading 11th win of the year.
“This was a great win for both Gabby and Courtney,” said head coach Aguistin Moreno. “Both of the girls they played were amazing competitors.”
Georgia Tech (11-4) opened play by winning all three doubles matches. The No. 8 team of Kristi Miller and Whitney McCray upended first-time teammates Shadisha Robinson and Vernon, 8-4 on court one.
Duch, Robinson's usual partner, was paired at No. 2 with Jessica Sweeting, who were upended by Silverio and Amanda Craddock, 8-4.
Iciri Rai and Liz Cruz suffered only their third loss of the season, as Flower and partner Tarryn Rudman set them down, 8-5.
GT's Miller, the No. 7 ranked player by the ITA, showed why as set handled No. 27 Robinson 6-1, 6-1 to open singles play and give the Yellow Jackets their second point of the match. The loss is Robinson's fifth straight and sixth overall from the No. 1 spot.
No. 44 Christy Striplin got past Rai at No. 6, 6-2, 6-2 and then Amanda McDowell clinched the match in Tech's favor with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Cruz at the fourth position.
Sweeting fought incredibly hard with Craddock on court three, taking the newly-ranked Yellow Jackets' freshman to a second set tie-beak, but falling 7-5, 7-6(9-7).
“Despite the loss, I'm happy,” continued Moreno. “We played much better today than against Auburn and I view this as a turning point for the team. I think we realize that we can compete against anyone. It's a great confidence booster.”
The Bulls will look to stop their two-match home losing streak when they host No. 35 Denver on Fri., Mar 23 at 2 p.m. The match will be the sixth straight against a ranked opponent.
No. 6 Georgia Tech 5, No. 39 USF 2
Doubles
1) Miller/McCray (GT) def. Robinson/Vernon (USF) 8-4
2) Silverio/Craddock (GT) def. Sweeting/Duch (USF) 8-4
3) Rudman/Flower (GT) def. Rai/Cruz (USF) 8-5
Singles
1) (7) Kristi Miller (GT) def. (27) Shadisha Robinson (USF) 6-1, 6-1
2) (42) Courtney Vernon (USF) def. (116) Alison Silverio (GT) 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(5)
3) (99) Amanda Craddock (GT) def. Jessica Sweeting (USF) 7-5, 7-6(9-7)
4) (121) Amanda McDowell (GT) def. Liz Cruz (USF) 6-4, 7-5
5) Gabriela Duch (USF) def. (21) Kirsten Flower (GT) 7-5, 7-5
6) (44) Christy Striplin (GT) def. Iciri Rai (USF) 6-2, 6-2
Order of Finish:
Doubles: 3,1,2
Singles: 1,6,5,4,3,2
USF: 8-6 GT: 11-4
