University of Georgia Athletics
Georgia's Nate Schnugg Reaches Quarterfinals At ITA Regionals
October 21, 2007 | Men's Tennis
“Nate is playing very well right now,” said Georgia head coach Manuel Diaz. “We are very pleased, he is making tremendous progress. He served and volleyed a lot and showed good flexibility in his game today and beat two very good players. He will have another big challenge Sunday and we are looking forward to it.”
Schnugg began the day with a Round of 32 victory over Alex Lacroix of Florida, 6-3, 7-5. Later Saturday, in the Round of 16, Schnugg defeated Mathieu Thibaudeau of Alabama, 6-4, 7-6(4), to advance to Sunday’s quarterfinal round. Schnugg will face the winner of Kalle Norberg (Ole Miss) and Vijay Paul (Vanderbilt), still in progress at the time of this release. That match will be played at 9 a.m.
By virtue of reaching the quarterfinal round, Schnugg will be automatically included in a pool of players eligible for at-large selections into the ITA National Indoor Championships. Should he reach the finals of the Regionals, he will earn an automatic berth into the indoor championships.
Sophomore Jamie Hunt (San Antonio, Texas) won his Round of 32 match as he also defeated a Gator, taking down Nestor Briceno of UF, 6-4, 7-5. In the Round of 16, Hunt battled but lost to Robbye Poole of Ole Miss, 6-3, 6-4.
Sophomores Chris Motes (Augusta, Ga.) and Christian Vitulli (Mombasa, Kenya) and freshman Drake Bernstein (Winder, Ga.) all won consolation matches Saturday. Junior Josh Varela also participated in Saturday’s consolation draw, playing well in a losing effort.
“All of our guys played great-caliber tennis today,” said Diaz. “I am really proud of all of our players. Even in our losses, we played high-quality tennis.”