May 17, 2008
TULSA, Okla. – Anastasia Revzina fought back after losing her first set to drop just two games over her next two sets, lifting sixth-seeded Florida to a 4-2 win over Georgia Tech in the quarterfinals of the 2008 NCAA Women’s Tennis Championships.
Revzina dropped her first set at No. 6 singles by a 4-6 margin, but rallied with 6-1, 6-1 wins in her next two sets against Yellow Jacket freshman Noelle Hickey to clinch the Gators a berth in the NCAA Semifinals.
The loss was the Yellow Jackets’ first in NCAA Tournament play since the 2006 season, as Georgia Tech took home the national championship in 2007.
The Yellow Jackets fell behind early as Florida’s second and third doubles tandems notched wins to begin the afternoon. Julia Cohen and Anastasia Revzina stopped Tech’s Christy Striplin and Kirsten Flower, 8-5, at the third doubles spot to set up the No. 2 doubles line for the first point of the match after Kristi Miller and Amanda McDowell knocked off the nation’s No. 8 duo of Megan Alexander and Marrit Boonstra, 8-4, at the top of the lineup. Whitney Benik and Csilla Borsanyi then downed Hickey and Whitney McCray, 8-6, to give Florida a 1-0 lead in the match.
“Florida played really well,” said Georgia Tech head coach Bryan Shelton. “We were hoping to come in here and steal the doubles point from them at the beginning of the match, and Kristi and Amanda gave us a big start for that. But we couldn’t quite capitalize on some when we had some opportunities at the other two doubles positions, so that was tough.”
A quick 6-2, 6-0 win by Benik at the No. 4 spot put the Gators up 2-0 before the Yellow Jackets picked up their first point of the afternoon when McDowell downed Borsanyi, 6-2, 6-0, at the No. 2 position.
Boonstra put the Gators within one point of winning the match by stopping Flower, 6-3, 6-4, at No. 4 singles, but Kristi Miller picked up a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Cohen to make the score 3-2.
Revzina then completed her comeback to send the Gators to the semifinals.
“Despite the outcome, I think this was great experience for Noelle to be in, and something that will stick with her and motivate her over the next 12 months until she has the opportunity to come back (at NCAA’s),” Shelton said. “She handled herself very well and gained a lot of experience from it.”
“We fought really hard all night long, but you have to give Florida credit,” Shelton added. “They played to win, and late in the match they got the job done.
“I am so proud of our team though, and for the work that they put in to get us back to the Elite Eight. They continue to raise the level of this program and I am looking forward to seeing what is in store for us in the years to come.”
While the team has been eliminated from competition, Georgia Tech will be represented in both the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships that begin Wednesday morning. Five different players will compete in the singles tournament, while the Yellow Jacket senior duo of Miller and McCray compete one last time in doubles.
Tennis Match ResultsFlorida vs Georgia TechMay 17, 2008 at Tulsa, Okla.
Florida 4, Georgia Tech 2
Singles competition 1. #10 Kristi Miller (GT) def. #29 Julia Cohen (UF) 6-2, 6-3 2. #7 Amanda McDowell (GT) def. #33 Csilla Borsanyi (UF) 6-2, 6-0 3. #51 Whitney McCray (GT) vs. #116 Megan Alexander (UF) 4-6, 5-2, unfinished 4. Whitney Benik (UF) def. #77 Christy Striplin (GT) 6-2, 6-0 5. Marrit Boonstra (UF) def. #46 Kirsten Flower (GT) 6-3, 6-4 6. #96 Anastasia Revzina (UF) def. Noelle Hickey (GT) 4-6, 6-1, 6-1
Doubles competition 1. Miller/ McDowell (GT) def. #8 Alexander/ Boonstra (UF) 8-4 2. Benik/ Borsanyi (UF) def. McCray/ Hickey (GT) 8-6 3. Cohen/ Revzina (UF) def. Striplin/ Flower (GT) 8-5
Match Notes: Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (4,2,5,1,6)
