University of Georgia Athletics
No. 1 Georgia Advances To ITA Indoors Finals
February 18, 2007 | Men's Tennis
“We found out that we are a pretty darn tough team today,” said Georgia head coach Manuel Diaz. “Virginia played unbelievably well in singles and I am very proud of how we fought and got ourselves back into matches. Virginia was playing loose and aggressive and the first thing I noticed was that we were playing tight. I think we are capable of playing better and had to show what kind of heart and courage we have. We passed a big test today.”
Georgia got out to a 1-0 match lead as the Bulldogs grabbed the doubles point for the seventh time in as many tries. Virginia won the first doubles match at the second position as Houston Barrick and Dominic Inglot took down Georgia’s junior Travis Helgeson (Overland Park, Kan.) and Matic Omerzel (Kranj, Slovenia), 8-4. The Bulldogs rallied right back however as Isner and junior Luis Flores (Xalapa, Mexico) topped Devvarman and Treat Huey at the top doubles position, 8-6. With the doubles point hanging in the balance it was the freshman duo of Jamie Hunt (San Antonio, Texas) and Nate Schnugg (Medford, Ore.) defeated Marko Milko and Lee Singer, 9-7, to clinch the point. Hunt and Schnugg have now clinched the doubles point for Georgia in all three of the team’s matches at the National Indoor tournament.
In singles action, Virginia knotted the contest at 1-1 when Inglot took down 22nd-ranked Helgeson at the third position, 6-3, 6-4. The loss was Helgeson’s first in dual-match play and ended a 10-match winning streak. Georgia regained the advantage shortly after though as Omerzel came through at the No. 4 position, topping Barrick, 6-4, 6-3, giving UGA a 2-1 lead. Virginia was not finished however as the Cavaliers once again evened the match at 2-2 when 10th-ranked Huey dropped 13th-ranked Flores, 7-6, 6-2.
The remaining three matches all went to a third set as Georgia overcame first-set losses in all three. Schnugg was the first to break through and give Georgia the advantage for good as he defeated Singer, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 at the fifth singles spot.
Needing just one more point to clinch the match, it was the first and sixth positions still in action. After trading service holds with Devvarman throughout the set, Isner finally broke at 4-4 to take a 5-4 lead, but strained a calf muscle in the process. Despite being hampered by the injury, Isner stepped up and “served out with some huge bombs”, according to Diaz. The No. 6 match was suspended with Hunt trailing, 3-6, 6-4, 1-3.
“Right now I’m not sure if John will go tomorrow or not,” said Diaz. “To his credit, I know if it was up to him, it would take an amputation to keep him off the court. All I know is that he won’t be 100 percent if he does go, so that is another thing we will have to overcome.”
Georgia’s opponent in the championship match will be No. 2-seeded Ohio State. Georgia is 9-0 all-time against Ohio State. Their last meeting came in the first round of the ITA National Indoors in 2005, a match that Georgia won by a 4-2 score. Ohio State has appeared in this event just twice before this year, posting a record of 1-5, including consolation matches, and never advancing past the first round.
Live scoring for the event will be provided by the University of Illinois and can be accessed through either the official tournament page at www.fightingilllini.com or by linking to the live scoring page from www.georgiadogs.com.
The University of Georgia will play host to the 2007 NCAA Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships, May 17-28. For ticket and tournament information, please visit the NCAA Tournament Information Center on georgiadogs.com. |
