W. tennis phenom Krishnamurthy streaks to 24 straight match wins

While the heart of the women's tennis team's spring season will not arrive until March, the Tigers' freshman phenom Kavitha Krishnamurthy showed the prowess of midseason strength over Intersession by claiming the individual title at the Georgia Invitational Jan. 24 in Athens, Ga.

Krishnamurthy - the No. 2 seed - defeated No. 8 seed Boston College junior Cynthia Tow 6-4, 6-1 in the final round to complete her run through the tournament.

After starting her first collegiate season 1-1 at William and Mary this fall, Krishnamurthy has reeled off 24 straight wins en route to a No. 21 national ranking.

"I felt good about the way I played here the last few days, facing some good players from a lot of different schools," Krishnamurthy said in a University of Georgia press release. "In the first set, I got off to a good start, and I think Cynthia picked it up after I got up 4-0. In the second set, I started playing better after an early break at 2-1, and I was able to close it out after that."

At the early-season Cissy Leary Invitational - held in Philadelphia in September - Krishnamurthy likewise faced Tow in the tournament final and likewise defeated the Eagle junior in two sets.

Princeton senior Amanda Hastings-Phillips also competed at the Georgia Invitational. After her first-round bye, the Tiger moved into the third round with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Mable Abraham of Armstrong Atlantic State. In that third round, however, Hastings-Phillips fell to No. 6 seed Kelly Baskin of Georgia.

The Tigers' next test will be against Massachusetts in two weeks before they host the Princeton Invitational at the end of February. Krishnamurthy's victories in her recent events should provide her with plenty to build on.

"The competition was tough," Krishnamurthy said. "It definitely gives me a lot of confidence."