but junior Bo Andrews won medalist honors in a 75-player field at an event in April and another junior, Seth Reeves, has posted some impressive rounds. “The thing about the postseason is, you need four good scores every day,” coach Bruce Heppler said. “It can be hard to compete for a team title if you don’t have individuals up front, but we have some guys playing well enough right now to get there in the postseason.” Andrews’ victory at the Gary Koch Invitational was a turning point, Heppler said, and not just for the junior from North Carolina. The team’s confidence has been fragile all season, contributing to the revolving list of Yellow Jackets on the leaderboards. Competition within the team is fierce, and Andrews’ win should “spur the guys on in terms of their belief systems,” Heppler said. “Hopefully, Bo’s win shows guys need not make a big deal out of trying to be ‘the guy’,” Heppler said. “They are so talented, if they just focus on their own deal, they’ll be fine.” The Yellow Jackets have plenty of postseason experience. Georgia Tech boasts four players who finished in the top-10 individually at last year’s ACC Championship, a tourney Tech won for the fourth straight year. The Yellow Jackets also played in the 2012 NCAA Southwest Regional. The seasoned group will also have home course advantage for the NCAA Championships. The finals will be played at the Capital
City Club’s Crabapple course from May 27 through June 2. “It should be to our advantage, but we need to win the conference championships and get some momentum going into the event,” Heppler said.
WOMEN’S TENNIS: Young team growing up fast
Georgia Tech won’t be a popular sleeper pick going into the postseason, but the Yellow Jackets might be a wise one. The Jackets knocked off two top-20 teams during the regular season and didn’t lose a match to an opponent outside the rankings. Senior Elizabeth Kilborn has proved a clutch player at No. 1 singles and freshmen Kendal Woodard, Natasha Prokhneyska and Megan Kurey have matured throughout the season. “The biggest thing for us is to focus on winning match by match,” first-year coach Rodney Harmon. “We certainly have the ability to match up, win and move on.
MEN’S TENNIS: Spir leads late charge
Juan Spir is going out swinging. The senior closed out the regular season with seven wins in his last eight singles matches, including an upset of the nation’s top-ranked player, Virginia’s Alex Domijan. Spir’s late surge has been the highlight of an otherwise difficult season for the young and rebuilding Yellow Jack-
Ashley Thomas and the Jackets will play the May 9-11 ACC Tournament in Tallahassee.
ets. Seven of the nine players on the roster are freshmen or sophomores.
SOFTBALL: Primed for postseason
The beauty of the postseason is teams have the chance to forget the regular season. Such is the case for Georgia Tech softball. A preseason top-25 team with six position starters and two starting pitchers returning, the Yellow Jackets struggled to meet expectations. Ace pitcher Hope Rush was inconsistent in the circle for the first time in her career and the offense struggled to score runs. Yet the Yellow Jackets tend to play their best softball late: They’ve won three of the last four ACC Tournament titles and appeared in 11 straight NCAA Tournaments.
TRACK & FIELD: Stars ready for NCAAs
Wren, Thomas and Palka want to defend their ACC Tournament crown May 22-26 in Durham, N.C.
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The Buzz
Georgia Tech’s track and field team members have assaulted the school record book and dominated the competition this season. Jumper Jhanelle McLeod shattered the school’s triple jump record and sprinter Broderick Snoddy repeatedly lowered the 60-meter dash mark. McLeod’s nearly 44-foot jump at the Florida Relays was the best mark in collegiate track and field for much of this season. Distance runner Brandon Lasater won the 800 meters at the Florida Relays with an ACC best time of 1:48.34 and pole vaulter Aaron Unterberger won his event in every meet he competed in prior to the ACC Championships. ■