NC State
Boston College
Epic Doubles Win Sparks Shutout in First Round
4/21/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 21, 2011
CARY, N.C. – 28th-ranked NC State women’s tennis gutted out a heart-stopping doubles point, then cruised in the next three singles matches, to knock off ninth-seeded Boston College 4-0 Thursday in the first round of the ACC Tournament at Cary Tennis Park.
The Pack split the first two doubles matches, with Joelle Kissell and Ashley Miller dropping Katarina Gajic and Katharine Attwell 8-6, and Alex Kelleher and Olga Khmylev outlasting Lenka Hojckova and Tatiana Illova 9-7.
In number one doubles, Sandhya Nagaraj and Sanaa Bhambri, ranked 18th in the country, let a 7-4 lead slip away as Veronica Corning and Erina Kikuchi clawed their way into a tiebreaker at 8-8.
In the tiebreaker, Nagaraj and Bhambri fell behind early, but kept pace with Boston College, never trailing by more than one point.
Corning and Kikuchi held a 10-9 lead when the tide eventually turned for the Pack, as Nagaraj and Bhambri won the next three points, sealing the match when Corning’s forehand hit the top of the tape and fell on the Eagles’ side.
“I think the girls did a great job of using the momentum we built up with the doubles point to get the win today,” said NC State head coach Hans Olsen.
“This team is really hitting its stride, doing what it takes to remain focused in pressure situations. We saw that today, and with the way that we played, I think we’ll be ready to give Duke our best game tomorrow.”
In singles play, NC State did not drop a set, taking the first three matches to cap the victory.
Kissell claimed the first win, a 6-4, 6-3 defeat of Corning. 31st-ranked Bhambri followed moments later by putting the stamp on a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Kelleher.
Illova provided the clinching win, topping 114th-ranked Gajic in the number three spot, 6-3, 7-5.
Hojckova, Nagaraj, and Christy Sipes each won their first set. Sipes and Nagaraj both led in the first set, and Hojckova was tied, when Illova’s match went final, forcing their matches to be abandoned.
NC State advances to take on top-seeded Duke at 9 a.m. Friday morning at Cary Tennis Park. Live scoring will be provided by GoPack.com. A full recap and results will follow the match.
RESULTS
(8) NC State 4, (9) Boston College 0
Doubles
1. Nagaraj/Bhambri def. Corning/Kikuchi 9-8 (12-10)
2. Kelleher/Khmylev def. Hojckova/Illova 9-7
3. Kissell/Miller def. Gajic/Attwell 8-6
Singles
1. #31 Sanaa Bhambri def. Alex Kelleher 6-4, 6-1
2. #94 Sandhya Nagaraj led Erina Kikuchi 7-5, 4-0, abd.
3. Tatiana Illova def. #114 Katarina Gajic 6-3, 7-5
4. Joelle Kissell def. Veronica Corning 6-4, 6-3
5. Lenka Hojckova led Katharine Attwell 6-2, 6-6, adb.
6. Christy Sipes led Olga Khmylev 7-6 (7-2), 4-2, abd.
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1*; 4, 1, 3*
