The 15th annual Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Kickoff Weekend brought Tech’s women’s tennis team to Charlottesville, Va., this past weekend. ITA Kickoff Weekend is a nationwide qualifier for the 60 best programs battling for a slot in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships on Feb. 9-12 in Seattle, Wash. 

The Jackets faced off against the No. 24 ranked Wisconsin Badgers in the afternoon of Jan. 26. A win would set Tech up to play the  No. 11 ranked Virginia Cavaliers in the championship, while a loss places Tech in a consolation match against Texas Tech.

Doubles action saw freshman duo Given Roach and Scarlett Nicholson continue their strong spring start. Despite dropping their first two games on the third court to Wisconsin graduate student Xinyu Cai and freshman Kája Jacobson, Roach and Nicholson retaliated by winning the next six games to take the set 6-2.

Senior  Carol Lee and junior Kate Sharabura squared off against Wisconsin’s No. 50 ranked doubles pair of senior Alina Mukhortova and sophomore Maria Sholokhova. Tied at 4-4, Lee and Sharabura won the ninth game to lead the set 5-4. This match was interrupted by the end of court two’s match. Following a 2-2 tie, junior Kylie Bilchev and sophomore Alejandra Cruz took off to win their match 6-4 against juniors Taylor Cataldi and Ariel Johnson. Going 2-0 earned Tech the doubles point and a 1-0 lead against Wisconsin. Unfortunately, Wisconsin’s single middle court players erased these early advantages. 

No. 123 ranked Bilchev dropped the second court match to Mukhortova with set scores of 4-6 and 3-6. Similarly, Cruz fell to her third court opponent Cataldi in 3-6 and 4-6 sets. Roach met a tough opponent on the fourth court in No. 87 ranked Cai. After 3-6 and 2-6 sets, Wisconsin swiftly flipped the script on Tech.

The remaining Jackets rallied back. On the first court, No. 107 ranked Lee took her first set 7-6 against No. 67 ranked Sholokhova in a 7-4 tiebreaker. Lee carried her momentum into the second set 6-3. Nicholson continued a strong day by taking the sixth court in two tiebreakers against graduate student Rosie
Garcia Gross, a former Jacket. 

Tech senior Mahak Jain traded blows with Johnson on the fifth court for the deciding match. After the first two sets ended 6-4 and 2-6, Jain jumped out to a 4-1 lead before Johnson recovered to put Jain in serving position down 5-6. Jain clearly felt no pressure — she served out the set and forced the entire dual
match to end on a tiebreaker. 

Although Johnson took an early 6-3 lead, Jain remained unfazed against five match points to fight back to a 8-8 tie. Jain won the next two points to clinch Tech’s first dual season victory.

The Jackets looked to continue success, taking the courts for the championship Saturday afternoon against No. 11 ranked Virginia. Doubles play featured Virginia’s  No. 48 ranked pair on the second court. Graduate student Natasha Subhash and senior Hibah Shaikh proved too much for Bilchev and Cruz, who dropped the set 1-6. Lee and Sharabura took their match 6-4 over the Cavaliers junior duo of Melodie Collard and Elaine Chervinsky. 

Roach and Nicholson took an early 4-2 lead despite difficult opponents in sophomore Annabelle Xu and senior Sara Ziodato. The Collard-Xu duo is ranked No.13 — Virginia elected to split this ranked duo and trust Xu with Ziodato. This decision was validated after Xu and Ziodato took the next four games to claim the 6-4 victory and thus the doubles point for Virginia.

Virginia boasts a powerful singles squad that features four players in the top 90 rankings. Lee fought through a grueling 4-6 first set in her matchup with  No. 86  Xu on the first court to take a 3-1 lead in the second set. 

Cruz led the second set 4-3 of her third court battle against Subhash after dropping the first 2-6. Nicholson continued her  impressive weekend by taking the first set 6-4 over ranked No. 82 Ziodato but got in a 0-4 hole during  the second set.

The Cavaliers overwhelmed the rest of the Jackets to validate their No. 11 ranking. Jain dropped to Chervinsky in 1-6 and 3-6 sets on the fifth court. 

The second court saw Bilchev drop the first set 0-6 to ranked No. 46 Shaikh and the second 2-6. The Cavaliers clinched the 4-0 decision following a pair of 2-6 sets to Roach’s ranked No. 88 opponent Ziodato.

The Jackets did not qualify for the ITA Indoor Championships, but returned to Atlanta with their first dual season victory. 

After hosting Georgia State on Tuesday, Jan. 30, Tech travels to meet the South Carolina Gamecocks on Friday, Feb. 2nd.

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Tech’s women’s tennis team opened the dual season against the University of Central Florida Golden Knights this past Saturday, Jan. 20. The two teams have history. Last spring, Tech took a 4-3 match in Atlanta and  eliminated the Knights from the NCAA Tournament in the first round, ending UCF’s season. The Jackets took the courts Saturday morning at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida. 

Tech’s upperclassman duo of Carol Lee and junior Kate Sharabura struck first against the Knights pair of sophomore Noel Saidenova and redshirt sophomore Anique Kattenberg. These Jackets jumped out to a 4-0 start, closing the match 6-2 to give Tech a decisive doubles advantage. 

The Knights got revenge in the next match, as junior Kylie Bilchev and sophomore Alejandra Cruz dropped their doubles match 2-6 against UCF’s Jantje Tilbuerger and Olivia Lincer on the second court. The freshman duo Scarlett Nichols and Given Roach continued their strong play from the Michigan Invitational with a 4-0 open against Knights Sophia Biolay and Jaleesa Leslie. Leslie and Biolay clawed their way back by winning the next six games and ending the match 4-6. With a 1-2 performance in doubles action, Tech lost the crucial doubles point to UCF.

Tech needed to win four of six singles matches to take a win back to Atlanta. Fortunately, Tech’s ranked No. 107 Lee and No. 123 Bilchev held the advantage over their unranked Knights Lincer and Biolay, respectively.

The Knights rode strongly into singles action, as Cruz fell first on court three following consecutive 0-6 dropped sets to UCF’s Tilbuerger while senior Mahak Jain could not pull out a win on the fourth court. She conceded  two 3-6 sets to Saidenova despite starting the second set 2-0. Stuck in a 0-3 rut, Tech had to win the rest of the singles matches to keep pace as the Knights could claim the match with a single win.

Lee battled at a 5-5 second set on the first court after dropping the first set 2-6 to Lincer. Bilchev bounced back from a 0-6 sweep in the first set against her second court opponent Biolay to take an impressive 6-1 second set and held the third set close at 2-3. At the sixth court, Sharabura won an incredible first set 7-5 against UCF’s Kattenberg yet trailed 0-1 in the third set after falling  2-6 in the second set.Despite their hard-fought showings, Lee, Bilchev and Sharabura did not finish their singles matches as the match was suspended following UCF claiming their fourth point on the fifth court.

Jackets’ freshman Roach played against Knight Leslie in a close competition, as she dropped the first set 4-6 and held a 3-2 lead in the second set. Unfortunately, Leslie finished strong to win six consecutive games and clinch the win for UCF, giving the Knights a 1-0 record in the dual season.

Last season, Tech posted a successful 13-8 dual season record, ending the season ranked No. 20. The Jackets then beat Syracuse and the No. 6 ranked Duke in the ACC Championship tournaments before falling against the No. 5 ranked NC State Wolfpack in the semi-final round. Tech eliminated UCF in the first round of the NCAA Tournament but lost to the No. 16 ranked Florida Gators in the second round and finished the season with an impressive overall record of 16-10.

Returning Jackets this season include Bilchev, Cruz, Jain, Lee, Sharabura and senior Ruth Marsh. Tech adds four freshmen in Ginger Foster, Meera Jesudason, Nicholson and Roach.

The Jackets will lean on their veterans in singles play, particularly the No. 1 and 2 positions held by Lee and Bilchev, who went 17-7 and 20-4 in dual singles action last season, respectively. Roach was the only new Jacket to compete in singles. Last dual season, Lee peaked at No. 7 for her singles play and remained within the top 16 throughout the entire season. Bilchev spent the season in the top 50 and  ranked No. 23 in April. As for doubles play, Tech brings back their pairing of Bilchev and Cruz, reaching a zenith of being ranked No. 69 last year and adds an exciting freshman duo in Nicholson and Roach. This pairing will be worth watching as the season progresses.

The Jackets will be looking for their first win at the  ITA Kickoff Weekend in Charlottesville, Va., against the No. 25 ranked Wisconsin Badgers on Friday, Jan. 26, and either unranked Texas Tech or the No. 12 ranked Virginia Cavaliers on Saturday, Jan. 27.

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Tech’s women’s tennis team opened the spring season at the Michigan Invitational this past weekend — a three-day tournament in which the Jackets competed individually against athletes from the University of Michigan, the University of Georgia and Ohio State, all ranked top 20 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Although Tech came in at No. 20, the Jackets aimed to start the spring strong in Ann Arbor.

On Friday, Tech took on No. 3 ranked Georgia in doubles and No. 5 ranked Michigan in singles. Georgia boasts the No. 15 and No. 58 ranked doubles partners in Guillermina Grant and Mai Nirundorn, and Aysegul Mert and Dasha Vidmanova, respectively, while Michigan presents four top 100 ranked players.

The Jackets did not fold easily, as junior Kylie Bilchev and sophomore Alejandra Cruz pushed Grant and Nirundorn to their limit, ultimately dropping the match to the Bulldogs on a 5-7 decision. Senior Carol Lee and junior Kate Sharabura fought tough but dropped their match against Grant and Nirundorn pair 6-1. Freshmen duo Scarlett Nicholson and Given Roach dominated their match. Against Georgia’s Anastasiia Lopata and Mell Reasco, the two freshmen recorded a 6-1 win in Nicholson’s Jacket debut.

Following doubles play, Tech competed strongly in singles against the Michigan Wolverines, forcing half of the eight matches to three sets. Ranked No. 107 and No. 123, Lee and Bilchev matched up against Michigan’s No. 10 ranked Kari Miller and No. 39 ranked Julia Fliegner, respectively. Lee lost the first set 2-6, took the second set 6-2, but dropped the final set to Miller 3-6. Despite the loss, Lee had a strong showing against a top 10 ranked opponent. Roach took her opponent, Jaedan Brown, to three sets after an extended tiebreaker to win the first set 10-8, but dropped the following sets 1-6 and 0-6. Tech senior Mahak Jain battled against No. 94 ranked Gala Mesochoritou. Jain fell short in in the first set 5-7, clawed back to take the second set 6-4 and ultimately dropped the final set 2-6. Sharabura smashed a three-set match against Bayley Sheinin, bouncing back from a 4-6 first set to win the following two 7-5 and 6-4.  Sharabura’s win against Sheinin was the Jacket’s only singles win against the Wolverines.

The Jackets took the courts in singles play against No. 14 ranked Ohio State, headlined by No. 15 ranked Cantos Siemers and No. 85 ranked Luciana Perry. Following her singles victory on Friday, Sharabura pushed her Buckeye opponent Audrey Spencer to a super tiebreaker, following a 5-7 first set with a firm 6-1 set. Ultimately, she couldn’t finish the job in the tiebreaker, ending at 7-10. Tech freshman Meera Jesudason also forced a super tiebreaker against the Buckeye’s Alessia Cau, mirroring the sets 6-4 and 4-6 before dropping  the super tiebreaker 9-11. The rest of the Jackets struggled as well — Ohio State swept Tech on Saturday.

Sunday’s success in doubles’ action against Michigan and Ohio State showcased the Jackets’ grit to conclude a tough weekend. 

Tech took the courts against Michigan first, winning three of four matches. Roach and Nicholson continued their dominance in doubles matches, taking down the Wolverines’ pairing of Fliegner and Lily Jones with a 6-2 score.  

The senior duo of Jain and Ruth Marsh similarly defeated Mesochoritou and Sheinin in a 6-4 match. Bilchev and Jesudason took their opponents, Reese Miller and Piper Charney, to a tiebreaker before grinding
out a gutsy 7-5 win. 

Lee and Sharabura battled against the Wolverines’ No. 8 ranked pairing of Kari Miller and Jaedan Brown, as the match stood at 5-5. Miller and Brown finished powerful, as Lee and Sharabura dropped the next two sets,
closing the match 5-7.

Tech finished the weekend in doubles play against Ohio State, who have two top 25 ranked doubles pairs. The doubles pair of Roach and Nicholson stalled against the Buckeyes’ pair of Maddie Atway and Teah Chavez. Tech dropped the match 3-6 while Bilchev and Jesudason fell in tiebreaker to Cau and Dani Schoenly in a 7-6 finish. 

Lee and Sharabura found their stride against Spencer and Perry, taking the match 6-4. Following their win earlier in the day, Marsh and Jain defeated Siemers and Megan Basil in the tiebreaker, a successful 7-6 match. 

Up next, the Jackets look ahead to Saturday, Jan. 20, as they travel to the University of Central Florida to battle the Knights in the first serve of the dual season in Orlando, Florida.

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