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Georgia Tech
Carolina Drops Georgia Tech In ACC Championship Quarterfinals
April 22, 2011 | Women's Tennis
April 22, 2011
DURHAM, N.C. - The second-seeded North Carolina women's tennis team showed its character at Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center at Duke University, winning an exciting quarterfinal match against seventh-seeded Georgia Tech, 4-1, Friday afternoon. Carolina got singles wins from Jelena Durisic, Tessa Lyons and Gina Suarez-Malaguti to move into Saturday's semifinals against third-seeded Miami.
Carolina took the doubles point with wins on courts one and two. Durisic and Lyons were the first to finish their doubles match, beating Lynn Blau and Elizabeth Kilborn, 8-3. Shinann Featherston and Lauren McHale battled for their 8-5 win on one, overcoming a three-point deficit early in the set. Although they did not finish, Suarez-Malaguti and Zoe De Bruycker were leading Georgia Tech's Sasha Krupina and Viet Ha Ngo, 7-5, when play was stopped.
In singles, Jelena Durisic was the first to finish for Carolina. She had a commanding win on court two and defeated Caroline Lilley, 6-3, 6-1.
Tessa Lyons held on her own on court six to beat Elizabeth Kilborn, 6-1, 6-4.
De Bruycker rallied back in the second set but was unable to best No. 42 Jillian O'Neill for the point, putting the Yellow Jackets on the board for the first time.
It all came down to the three-set battles on courts three, four and five.
Suarez-Malaguti was down three games in her decisive third set while Featherston and McHale were down two games in theirs. The Tar Heels only needed one more point to win the match and it would be Suarez-Malaguti who clawed her way tooth and nail for it.
Suarez-Malaguti came back from a three-game deficit to beat Sasha Krupina on court five, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
Featherston and McHale fought hard too, but Suarez-Malaguti got Carolina's decisive fourth point first. Featherston was deadlocked with No. 74 Viet Ha Ngo on court three 2-6, 6-3, 5-5 while McHale was set with Blau on court four at 6-3, 4-6, 3-3.
The Tar Heels will play their semifinal match on Saturday at 1 p.m. against Miami, which beat sixth-seeded Clemson in the quarterfinals. The match is scheduled to be played at Cary Tennis Center in Cary, N.C., but severe weather could move play elsewhere. Scores and updates from the ACC Tennis Championships can be found at TheACC.com.
No. 5 North Carolina 4, No. 16 Georgia Tech 1
Doubles
1. #6 Featherston/McHale (UNC) def. #28 Lilley/O'Neill (GT), 8-5
2. Durisic/Lyons (UNC) def. Blau/Kilborn (GT), 8-3
3. Suarez-Malaguti/De Bruycker (UNC) led Krupina/Ngo (GT), 7-5
Order of finish: 2, 1*, 3
Singles
1. # 42 Jillian O'Neill (GT) def. #11 Zoe De Bruycker (UNC), 6-2, 6-4
2. #105 Jelena Durisic (UNC) def. Caroline Lilley (GT), 6-3, 6-1
3. #93 Shinann Featherston (UNC) vs. #71 Viet Ha Ngo (GT), 2-6, 6-3, 5-5
4. Lauren McHale (UNC) vs. Lynn Blau (GT), 6-3, 4-6, 3-3
5. Gina Suarez-Malaguti (UNC) def. Sasha Krupina (GT), 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
6. Tessa Lyons (UNC) def. Elizabeth Kilborn (GT), 6-1, 6-4
Order of finish: 2, 6, 1, 5*, 3, 4
Players Mentioned
