|
|
|
ATHENS-----Fourth-ranked Georgia cruised
in to the second round of the NCAA Men’s
Tennis Championships with a 4-0 win over
South Carolina State Friday at the Dan
Magill Tennis Complex.
The Bulldogs (23-3) now will face
26th-ranked Virginia Tech here Saturday
at 4 p.m. The Hokies (15-7) advanced
with a 4-2 win over UNC-Wilmington
earlier Friday. The Georgia-Virginia
Tech winner moves on to the round of 16
next week in College Station, Texas.
Georgia took the early 1-0 lead by
winning the doubles point. The
fifth-ranked duo of Jamie Hunt and Nate
Schnugg defeated Radek Pivonka and
Gabriel Meana 8-2 in the No. 1 contest.
Then, the No. 2 team of Borja Malo and
Christian Vitulli clinched the point
with an 8-4 win over Ivan Milivojevic
and Tomas Dobrotka. With the point
determined, the No. 3 match was
suspended with Georgia leading 6-5. The
Bulldogs are 18-0 in matches this year
after claiming the doubles point.
In singles, Malo gave the Bulldogs a 2-0
lead with a quick 6-0,6-1 win over Jan
Langer in the No. 6 contest. Malo moved
in to the lineup when Hunt was taken out
after the doubles because he is
recovering from an illness. Next, Javier
Garrapiz made it 3-0 after a 6-0,6-2
victory over Pivonka at No. 2. The
clinching win came from Vitulli at No.
5. He dispatched David Grund 6-3,6-1 to
give the Bulldogs a 4-0 decision.
“We were excited to start the tournament
and to get it rolling like we did,” said
Vitulli. “I thought we had a lot of
energy, and it means a lot to get a win
today for the team and to be able to
clinch it too.”
“South Carolina State is a program on
the rise, and they challenged us on
every court in singles,” said Georgia
coach Manuel Diaz. “We had tiebreakers
in two of the top three singles spots,
all the matches were competitive, and
they were gentlemen on the courts. I
didn’t think we looked as fresh as I
would’ve liked but some of that is due
to the guys just finishing exams and we
haven’t had a match in a week.”
Diaz added that Hunt was held out of the
singles as a precaution and indicated he
should be ready to go for both singles
and doubles Saturday.
With the latest victory, Georgia
extended its home winning streak to 61.
South Carolina State ends the season
with a 14-8 record.
NCAA Men’s Tennis First Round
Athens, Ga. (Dan Magill Tennis Complex)
#2 Georgia 4, South Carolina State 0
Doubles
1. #5 Jamie Hunt/Nate Schnugg (UGA) def.
Radek Pivonka/Gabriel Meana (SCSU) 8-2
2. Borja Malo/Christian Vitulli (UGA)
def. Ivan Milivojevic/Tomas Dobrotka (SCSU)
8-4
3. Drake Bernstein/Javier Garrapiz (UGA)
vs. David Grund/Jan Langer (SCSU) 6-5,
suspended
Singles
1. #12 Nate Schnugg (UGA) vs. Ivan
Milivojevic (SCSU) 7-6(2), 1-1,
suspended
2. #62 Javier Garrapiz (UGA) def. Radek
Pivonka (SCSU) 6-0,6-2
3. Josh Varela (UGA) vs. Tomas Dobrotka
(SCSU) 7-6(5), 3-1, suspended
4. Drake Bernstein (UGA) vs. Gabriel
Meana (SCSU) 6-2,5-2, suspended
5. Christian Vitulli (UGA) def. David
Grund (SCSU) 6-3,6-1
6. Borja Malo (UGA) def. Jan Langer (SCSU)
6-0,6-1
Order of Finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles
(6,2,5)
Team Record: #2 Georgia (23-3); S.C.
State (14-8)
Can't find what you're looking for? Try Google
Search!
Forward This Article to a Friend
Back to Tennisnews.com Home Page
|
