October 21, 2007 | Men's Tennis
LEXINGTON, Ky. --- Sophomore Nate Schnugg (Medford, Ore.) of the University of Georgia men's tennis team advanced to the semifinals of the Wilson/ITA Southeast Regional Championships with a win over Kalle Norberg of Ole Miss Sunday, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
"Nate continues to impress at this tournament," said Georgia head coach Manuel Diaz. "He had great win today and played impeccable tennis in the first set. That is some of the best tennis I have ever seen him play. I think Norberg felt the need to really go for broke and start playing for winners. He started making them and brought his level up to where Nate was playing. Then it was impressive to see Nate make the necessary adjustments in the third set and close the match out with Norberg playing some of his best tennis as well. It was a great match and he now has a terrific opportunity Monday against a quality player. I think he has a very good chance at another good win. "
Schnugg, the tournament's No. 11 seed, will now face Miami's Daniel Vallverdu in the semifinals Monday. The Bulldogs have now seen a player reach the semifinals at the Southeast Regional Championships for the second straight year. Schnugg looks to repeat the success of senior Travis Helgeson (Overland Park, Kan.) who reached the finals in 2006.
If Schnugg is able to advance Monday to the, he will earn an automatic berth into the ITA National Indoor Championships. By virtue of reaching the quarterfinal round on Saturday, Schnugg will be automatically included in a pool of players eligible for at-large selections into that tournament, should he not reach the finals.
Schnugg's Monday match begins at 9:30 a.m.
