University of Georgia Athletics
John Isner Wins Southern Intercollegiate Championship
September 26, 2005 | Men's Tennis
Sept. 26, 2005
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ATHENS, Ga. ---­ University of Georgia men's tennis player John Isner defeated Eric Claesson of Ole Miss, 6-4, 6-4, Monday morning at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex to win the championship draw at the Southern Intercollegiate Championships. He becomes the first Bulldog to win the Georgia-hosted event since John Roddick in 1997.
"This is a great achievement for John," said Georgia head coach Manuel Diaz. "It is very well deserved. He has worked very hard and he played under some difficult conditions. After coming off of the Lubbock tournament and doing so well, it was challenging for him to get mentally and physically prepared to play this tournament. He really showed that he is a championship player by doing so."
"I knew this was going to be tough," said Isner. "Playing at a high level pro tournament, then coming straight back here, I was afraid of a mental let down. I kind of struggled on the first day but squeaked by my first two matches. That first day was the toughest. I was pretty sore the next day, but once I played my third match I was alright. I got better with each match."
Isner's road to the championship went as follows:
First-round bye as the tournament's No. 2 seed
Round of 32 ­ defeated Dias Doskarayev (Georgia State), 7-6, 7-6
Round of 16 ­ defeated Ytai Abougzir (Florida State), 4-6, 6-1, 7-6
Quarterfinal ­ defeated Jonathan Stokke (Duke), 7-6, 6-4
Semifinal ­ defeated Bram ten Berge (Ole Miss), 6-2, 6-3
Final ­ defeated Eric Claesson (Ole Miss), 6-4, 6-4
"I think this whole tournament is definitely a step forward for our team," said Isner. "All of our guys made it through the first day and then put up a great fight when they did lose, pushing it to three sets. We could conceivably have had five guys playing in quarterfinal matches. Overall we played well, it is a good sign for our team."
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