University of Georgia Athletics
2008 NCAA? Tennis Championships - First and Second Rounds Recaps
May 08, 2008 | General
Georgia Punches Ticket To Tulsa With 4-0 Win Over Auburn
ATHENS, Ga. --- The No. 4-seeded University of Georgia men’s tennis team (23-3) is headed to the Round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive year, following a 4-0 second-round victory against Auburn (11-13) Sunday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. In windy conditions, No. 4-ranked senior Travis Helgeson (Overland Park, Kan.) clinched the victory from the top singles position to propel Georgia on to Tulsa, Okla., site of this year NCAA Championships.
“I thought we played well at every spot today,” said Georgia head coach Manuel Diaz. “When you can do that it puts a lot of pressure on your opponent. Having said that, it was close at almost every position, but we did not giving anything away. Our guys competed well in terrible conditions. Wind like this affects everything, your serve, your margin of error and the margin of skill between opponents. You have to work for everything you get. I think they did a good job of fighting through the conditions and closing out their sets.”
With the shutout, Georgia has now won 11 of its last 14 NCAA Tournament matches by a perfect 4-0 score, dating back to 2006. In those 14 matches over the last three years, Georgia’s record is 13-1 and includes the 2007 NCAA Championship. The only loss came in the 2006 NCAA Finals to Pepperdine.
Georgia will now face the winner of 13th-seeded Pepperdine and #17-32 seed Stanford in the Rd. of 16 in Tulsa, Friday, May 16. The Bulldogs topped Stanford earlier this season in a neutral-site match at Tulsa, 7-0. The last time Georgia faced Pepperdine was at the ITA National Team Indoors in 2007, beating the Waves 4-0. However, should the Bulldogs face Pepperdine, UGA will be looking to avenge a 4-2 loss to PU in the 2006 NCAA Championship Finals, 4-2, which was their last outdoor meeting.
Against Auburn, Georgia took a 1-0 lead by capturing the doubles point with wins at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions. First to finish was the Bulldog tandem of Helgeson and sophomore Christian Vitulli (Mombasa, Kenya), who topped Lukas Marsoun and Milan Krnjetin, 8-2. The Tigers then fought back at the No. 2 position as Tim Puetz and Pawel Dilaj topped UGA’s senior Luis Flores (Xalapa, Mexico) and freshman Javier Garrapiz (Huesca, Spain), 8-4. With the crucial point hanging in the balance, the 17th-ranked sophomore tandem of Jamie Hunt (San Antonio, Texas) and Nate Schnugg (Medford, Ore.) took down Alexey Tsyrenov and Terence Nugent, 8-6.
In singles play, Vitulli gave Georgia a 2-0 lead from the sixth spot as he topped Milan Krnjetin, 6-3, 6-1. Next to finish was 38th-ranked Hunt toped Dilaj, 7-5, 6-3 in the fourth position, giving the Dogs a 3-0 lead. Just seconds later, Helgeson put the finishing touch on the match with a 7-6(2), 6-3 victory against 27th-ranked Alexey Tsyrenov.
“The wind really neutralized the match today,” said Helgeson. “You have some bad breaks and it makes it tough to win points. You have to focus on winning the big, important points. I think this is a lot like what it will be in Tulsa. I don’t think it will be quite this gusty, but this was good preparation for the conditions there.”
With the match clinched at 4-0, the remaining matches were halted with Georgia leading at every position. In the second spot, Schnugg was ahead of Puetz, 7-6(5), 5-4, while Flores was leading Marsoun in the third position, 6-3, 4-4. At the fifth spot, Garrapiz had recovered from a 6-1 first-set loss to win the second 6-3, and was on top of Nugent in the third set, 4-1.
Georgia improves to 75-25 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. This year marks the Bulldogs 30th appearance in the tournament since its inception in 1977.
Georgia will practice in Athens Monday, before departing for Tulsa Tuesday afternoon.
Tennis Match Results
Auburn vs Georgia
May 11, 2008 at Athens, Ga.
(Dan Magill Tennis Complex)
#5 Georgia 4, #35 Auburn 0
Singles competition
1. #4 Travis Helgeson (UGA) def. #27 Alexey Tsyrenov (AUB) 7-6 (7-2), 6-3
2. #15 Nate Schnugg (UGA) vs. #87 Tim Puetz (AUB) 7-6 (7-5), 5-4, unfinished
3. #59 Luis Flores (UGA) vs. Lukas Marsoun (AUB) 6-3, 4-4, unfinished
4. #38 Jamie Hunt (UGA) def. Pawel Dilaj (AUB) 7-5, 6-3
5. #121 Javier Garrapiz (UGA) vs. Terence Nugent (AUB) 1-6, 6-3, 4-1, unfinished
6. Christian Vitulli (UGA) def. Milan Krnjetin (AUB) 6-3, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. #17 Jamie Hunt/Nate Schnugg (UGA) def. Alexey Tsyrenov/Terence Nugent (AUB) 8-6
2. Tim Puetz/Pawel Dilaj (AUB) def. Luis Flores/Javier Garrapiz (UGA) 8-4
3. Travis Helgeson/Christian Vitulli (UGA) def. Lukas Marsoun/Milan Krnjetin (AUB) 8-2
Match Notes:
Auburn 11-13; National ranking #35
Georgia 23-3; National ranking #5
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,4,1)
NCAA 2nd Round
Georgia No. 4 Seed
Auburn No. 33-48 Seed
Official: Jim Russell T-3:10 A-348
Gamecocks Fall to No. 2 Georgia in Athens, Ga.
ATHENS, Ga. The South Carolina women’s tennis team closed out the 2008 season with a 4-0 second-round NCAA Tournament loss to No. 2-ranked Georgia on Saturday at Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga. The Gamecocks posted a record of 13-10 this season.
“Considering the length of yesterday’s match, I thought we competed hard today,” USC head coach Arlo Elkins said. “We battled at most of the positions, and that’s all I can ask of our team.”
Georgia stormed out of the gates in doubles, taking leads of 6-1, 6-2 and 6-2 on courts one, two and three. Cameron Ellis and Naoko Ueshima finished first for the Bulldogs at two doubles with an 8-3 victory over Megan McGavock and Ana Marija Zubori. Sisters Kelley and Yvette Hyndman clinched the point by an 8-2 score over Gira Schofield and Suzanna Mansour at the top position.
Monika Dancevic and Adrienne Elsberry of Georgia were leading Jelena Rajic and Natasa Vuckovic 7-4 and 40-30 on their serve when play was suspended on court three.
The Bulldogs moved ahead 2-0 after Ellis defeated McGavock on court five 6-2, 6-1, and Ueshima made the score 3-0 after disposing of Mansour at No. 4 singles 6-0, 6-3. Elsberry provided the final point for Georgia with a 6-1, 7-5 triumph over Rajic on court six.
Schofield was leading Yvette Hyndman 6-1, 4-4 at No. 1 singles when the match ended, while Zubori was in a first-set tiebreaker with Kelley Hyndman on court two. Vuckovic lost the first set to Dancevic 7-5 at No. 3 singles and was trailing 5-1 in the second when played was suspended.
Schofield will now represent the Gamecocks in the NCAA Singles Championship in Tulsa, Okla., when play begins May 21. She and Zubori are scheduled to play in the doubles tournament as well.
#2 Georgia (22-4) def. #32 South Carolina (13-10), 4-0
Singles
1. #45 Gira Schofield, USC, vs. #39 Yvette Hyndman, UG, 6-1, 4-4 susp.
2. #74 Ana Marija Zubori, USC, vs. #58 Kelley Hyndman, UG, 6-6 susp.
3. Natasa Vuckovic, USC, vs. #103 Monika Dancevic, UG, 5-7, 1-5 susp.
4. #83 Naoko Ueshima, UG, def. Suzanna Mansour, USC, 6-0, 6-3
5. Cameron Ellis, UG, def. Megan McGavock, USC, 6-2, 6-1
6. Adrienne Elsberry, UG, def. Jelena Rajic, USC, 6-1, 7-5
Order of Finish: 5, 4, 6
Doubles
1. #52 Hyndman/Hyndman, UG, def. Mansour/Schofield, USC, 8-2
2. Ellis/Ueshima, UG, def. McGavock/Zubori, USC, 8-3
3. Rajic/Vuckovic, USC, vs. Dancevic/Elsberry, UG, 4-7 susp.
Order of Finish: 2, 1
Georgia Men’s Tennis Advances Past Radford, 4-0
ATHENS, Ga. The No. 4-seeded University of Georgia men’s tennis team (22-3) defeated Radford (15-2) Saturday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex by a score of 4-0, punching its ticket for the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The match was clinched by senior Luis Flores (Xalapa, Mexico) from the third position.
“I gained a lot of respect for Radford and their tennis program today,” said Georgia head coach Manuel Diaz. “They’re just well-coached and they have a bunch of kids that play great tennis. They are deep, they are strong and they competed very well. We played well today ourselves and it was a great test for our guys after having three weeks off since the SEC Tournament. I think the guys are ready to go tomorrow against Auburn.”
The Bulldogs jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead by capturing the doubles point in less than 45 minutes. Georgia’s first win came from the third position as senior Travis Helgeson (Overland Park, Kan.) teamed up with sophomore Christian Vitulli (Mombasa, Kenya) to take down Paul Boslet and James Lloyd, 8-1. The point was clinched at the first position as the 17th-ranked sophomore tandem of Jamie Hunt (San Antonio, Texas) and Nate Schnugg (Medford, Ore.) topped Martin Sayer and Zack Watson, 8-3. When the point was clinched, the Bulldog duo of Flores and freshman Javier Garrapiz (Huesca, Spain) were leading Mehdi Benhammou and Ivan Salec, 6-4.
In singles play, first off the court was Schnugg, who posted a 6-1, 6-2 win against Salec in the second position. Minutes later it was Vitulli who gave the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead as he cruised to a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Boslet in the sixth position.
“I figured out my opponent pretty early and I executed well throughout the match,” said Vitulli. “We’re really confident; we have everyone back 100-percent healthy. We’re ready to go.”
Needing just one more point to clinch the win, both Flores and Garrapiz held match-point opportunities. Garrapiz was in the middle of his rally, when Flores held serve to earn the clinch, defeating Lloyd, 6-4, 6-1, in the third position.
“I thought we played pretty solid doubles and singles,” said Flores. “We started playing better this match. That was the difference between this match and others. Nate played really well. I think the whole team will be ready to go again tomorrow.”
Garrapiz’s match at the fifth spot was suspended with the Bulldog freshman leading Watson, 6-1, 5-2. The match at the top spot, featuring 4th-ranked Helgeson against 103rd-ranked Martin Sayer, was suspended in the second set after Helgeson had won the first, 6-4. He was trailing in the second, 5-3. Also going unfinished was the match in the fourth spot, with Hunt holding the edge over Benhammou, 6-2, 5-5.
Georgia will now face Auburn (11-12) in the second round Sunday, May 11, at 2 p.m. at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. The Bulldogs and the Tigers faced off in Auburn in the regular season with Georgia snatching a 7-0 victory. The last time Auburn got the best of the Dogs was in 2004, winning by a 5-2 margin in Athens.
Georgia and Auburn also met in Athens in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2007, with the Bulldogs winning by a 4-0 margin.
Tickets for the second round can be purchased at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex at a cost of $5 for adults, $3 for youth (college aged and younger).
Tennis Match Results
Radford vs Georgia
May 10, 2008 at Athens, Ga.
(Dan Magill Tennis Complex)
#5 Georgia 4, #70 Radford 0
Singles competition
1. #4 Travis Helgeson (UGA) vs. #103 Martin Sayer (RU) 6-4, 3-5, unfinished
2. #15 Nate Schnugg (UGA) def. Ivan Salec (RU) 6-1, 6-2
3. #59 Luis Flores (UGA) def. James Lloyd (RU) 6-4, 6-1
4. #38 Jamie Hunt (UGA) vs. Mehdi Benhammou (RU) 6-2, 5-5, unfinished
5. #121 Javier Garrapiz (UGA) vs. Zack Watson (RU) 6-1, 5-2, unfinished
6. Christian Vitulli (UGA) def. Paul Boslet (RU) 6-0, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. #17 Jamie Hunt/Nate Schnugg (UGA) def. Martin Sayer/Zack Watson (RU) 8-3
2. Luis Flores/Javier Garrapiz (UGA) vs. Mehdi Benhammou/Ivan Salec (RU) 6-4, unfinished
3. Travis Helgeson/Christian Vitulli (UGA) def. Paul Boslet/James Lloyd (RU) 8-1
Match Notes:
Radford 15-2; National ranking #70
Georgia 22-3; National ranking #5
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (2,6,3)
NCAA First Round
Georgia - #4 Seed
Radford - #49-64 Seed
Official: Jim Russell T-2:10 A-520
No. 35 Auburn Men's Tennis Rallies For 4-3 Win Over No. 28 Wake Forest
ATHENS, Ga. --- For the first time all season, the No. 35 Auburn men’s tennis team was able to overcome losing the doubles point and earn the match win as the Tigers defeated No. 28 Wake Forest, 4-3, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
With the win, Auburn moves on to the second round and will play the winner of the match between No. 5 Georgia and No. 70 Radford. The second round match will begin at 2 p.m. ET at the Dan Magill Tennis Center in Athens, Ga.
Auburn advances to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the 11th time in the program’s history. The Tigers are now 18-15 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and hold a 4-3 advantage in the series against Wake Forest.
“We just battled,” said Auburn head coach Eric Shore. “I thought we played well in doubles, but it was close again and we lost a very close doubles point. We didn’t hang our head and just battled and won a close one.”
After losing six of their last seven matches of the season, the win over the Demon Deacons ends a rough stretch of the season in which the Tigers lost four 4-3 matches. The win also marks just the third 4-3 win of the season for Auburn.
“We were due, we’ve lost a number of those this year and we just kept battling and had a little bit more in the tank at the end,” said Shore. “It was encouraging, that’s for sure.”
Wake Forest jumped to the early lead in the match by winning No. 1 and 3 doubles. Seventh-ranked Cory Parr and Steven Forman teamed up to defeat Auburn’s Alexey Tsyrenov and Terence Nugent in No. 1 doubles, 8-4.
Mariusz Adamski and Carlos Salmon clinched the point for the Demon Deacons with an 8-6 win over AU’s Tim Puetz and Pawel Dilaj in No. 2 doubles. When doubles play was suspended, Auburn’s Lukas Marsoun and Milan Krnjetin held an 8-7 advantage over Jason Morganstern and Jonathan Wolff.
The loss of the doubles point put Auburn in a tough spot as it entered the match with a 0-10 record when losing the early point. The last time the Tigers won a match after losing doubles was on April 8, 2007 when Auburn pulled out a 4-3 win over LSU.
Juniors Marsoun and Krnjetin won the crucial singles points down the stretch to give Auburn the win. With Wake Forest holding a 3-2 lead, one point away from the win, Marsoun took his No. 3 singles match to three sets to earn the 2-6, 7-6 (0), 7-5 win over Adamski to tie the match at 3-3.
Krnjetin followed up with a three-set thriller of his own in No. 5 singles, clinching the match win for Auburn by defeating Jonathan Wolff, 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-2.
“You’ve got to give Lukas Marsoun a lot of credit there, losing the first set and he didn’t quit mentally,” said Shore. “Milan got down early in the first set and came back for a big win. He ended up going three sets, but he hung in there and that is what we have been trying to tell the team all year and they got it done today.”
No. 87 Puetz, a freshman playing in his first NCAA Tournament, put Auburn up on the board first, beating No. 68 Forman, 6-2, 6-2 in No. 2 singles. Dilaj, Auburn’s senior captain, followed up in No. 4 singles with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Morganstern.
Taking losses in singles were Tsyrenov, ranked 27th in the nation, and Nick Maurillo. Tsyrenov lost to No. 46 Parr, 6-3, 6-3, while Maurillo lost to Andrew Brasseaux, 6-4, 7-5.
Fan can follow all the action in Sunday’s second round live byvisiting the Tournament Central page at www.GeorgiaDogs.com. A free video Webcast is available along with live scoring.
Tennis Match Results
Auburn vs Wake Forest
May 10, 2008 at Athens, Ga.
#35 Auburn 4, #28 Wake Forest 3
Singles competition
1. #46 Cory Parr (WAKE) def. #27 Alexey Tsyrenov (AU) 6-3, 6-3
2. #87 Tim Puetz (AU) def. #68 Steven Forman (WAKE) 6-2, 6-4
3. Lukas Marsoun (AU) def. Mariusz Adamski (WAKE) 2-6, 7-6 (7-0), 7-5
4. Pawel Dilaj (AU) def. Jason Morganstern (WAKE) 6-4, 6-3
5. Milan Krnjetin (AU) def. Jonathan Wolff (WAKE) 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2
6. Andrew Brasseaux (WAKE) def. Nick Maurillo (AU) 6-4, 7-5
Doubles competition
1. #7 Cory Parr/Steven Forman (WAKE) def. Alexey Tsyrenov/Terence
Nugent (AU) 8-4
2. Mariusz Adamski/Carlos Salmon (WAKE) def. Tim Puetz/Pawel Dilaj (AU)
8-6
3. Jason Morganstern/Jonathan Wolff (WAKE) vs. Lukas Marsoun/Milan
Krnjetin (AU) 7-8, unfinished
Match Notes:
Auburn 11-12; National ranking #35
Wake Forest 17-11; National ranking #28
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (1,2,6,4,3,5)
NCAA First Round
Wake Forest 17-32 Seed
Auburn 33-48 Seed
Official: Jim Russell T-4:33 A-136
Georgia Advances To Second Round Of NCAA Women’s Tennis Tournament
The No. 2 seeded Bulldogs (21-4) will face the winner of
Georgia advanced to the NCAA Second Round for the 10th time in 10 years since the current 64-team format was implemented in 1999.
“Not only does Yale have a great nickname in the Bulldogs, but they also have a great tennis team,” Georgia head coach Jeff Wallace said. “I thought they played really well against us in singles and doubles. It was a hard-fought first round and I’m glad we got through it. We have to be ready to play tomorrow.”
Freshman Cameron Ellis clinched the match for
“I didn’t start off well,” Ellis said. “(Ritz) is a great player. I needed to step it up after a slow start. I was able to tighten up and play more solid and get it done.”
Play was suspended on courts one, two and six once the match was clinched.
The loss snapped Yale’s eight-match winning streak. The Ivy League champions finished the season 11-9.Tickets for Saturday’s matches will be available outside the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. Cost is $5 for Adults, $3 for Youth (college-aged and younger).
Results
#2 Georgia 4, Yale 0
Singles competition
1. #39 Yvette Hyndman (UGA) vs. Janet Kim (YALE) 5-7, 1-1, unfinished
2. #58 Kelley Hyndman (UGA) vs. Jessie Rhee (YALE) 3-6, 2-1, unfinished
3. #103 Monika Dancevic (UGA) def. Lindsay Clark (YALE) 6-1, 6-2
4. #83 Naoko Ueshima (UGA) def. Sarah Lederhandler (YALE) 6-0, 6-3
5. Cameron Ellis (UGA) def. Lauren Ritz (YALE) 7-5, 6-1
6. Adrienne Elsberry (UGA) vs. Stevi Petrelli (YALE) 7-5, 1-2, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #52 Kelley Hyndman/Yvette Hyndman (UGA) def. Janet Kim/Jessie Rhee (YALE) 8-2
2. Lindsay Clark/Lauren Ritz (YALE) vs. Naoko Ueshima/Cameron Ellis (UGA) no result
3. Monika Dancevic/Adrienne Elsberry (UGA) def. Lindsey Dashiell/Stevi Petrelli (YALE) 8-3
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (3,4,5)
Official: Jim Russell T-2:05 A-137
Gamecocks Rally For Thrilling 4-3 Win Over VCU
ATHENS, Ga. --- The South Carolina women’s tennis team advanced to the second round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament on Friday with a thrilling 4-3 win over VCU at Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga. The Gamecocks improved to 13-9 with the victory and will now take on Georgia in the second round Saturday at 4 p.m.“I told the team beforehand that our team and VCU are essentially equal and that the team that wins will be the one that wants it more,” USC head coach Arlo Elkins said. “I was very pleased with the way we responded after the doubles and the effort we put forth. We’re looking forward to another great match tomorrow with Georgia.”
The Gamecocks lost the doubles point, falling on courts one and three. First, Olena Leonchuk and Kateryna Yergina of VCU upended Jelena Rajic and Natasa Vuckovic at three by an 8-3 score. On court one, the Gamecock duo of Suzanna Mansour and Gira Schofield went ahead 6-3 against Laura Burns and Viktoria Konstantinova, but the Rams countered by winning five games in a row to give VCU the 1-0 lead heading to singles play.
The remaining doubles match at the No. 2 spot had Vera Petrashevitch and Tatsiana Uvarova from VCU leading Megan McGavock and Ana Marija Zubori 7-6 and 30-0 when the match was suspended.
VCU wasted no time snagging a 3-0 lead against the Gamecocks once the singles matches began. Leonchuk took care of Mansour 6-1, 6-0 on court four and minutes later, Burns registered a 6-2, 6-1 triumph over McGavock at the No. 5 spot.
Vuckovic got the Gamecocks on the board at the No. 3 slot where she was a 6-3, 6-1 winner against Yergina. After another five minutes, the margin became one as Zubori took down Konstantinova 6-4, 6-3 on court two.
The last two matches at one and six after Zubori finished were about to enter third sets. Schofield won the first set against Uvarova 6-2, but lost the second 6-4, and Rajic claimed the first 6-4 over Kateryna Malakhova while losing the second 6-3.
Rajic went up 2-0 in the third set and Schofield quickly advanced to 4-0 versus Uvarova, but the Rams mounted a comeback. Malakhova closed the margin to 2-2, but the freshman Rajic stepped up to win the next four games in a row to deadlock the match at 3-all.
Uvarova won five games in a row after Schofield led 4-0, but Schofield was able to win the 10th game to make the score 5-5. Uvarova then held serve to lead 6-5 and Schofield followed by holding serve at love in the next game to force a tiebreaker.
In the breaker, Schofield took a 5-3 lead, but Uvarova came back to win the next three points for her first match point. The next rally saw Schofield rifle a backhand winner down the line on a short ball to make the score 6-6 heading the changeover. Uvarova then grabbed another match point at 7-6, but unforced errors prevented her from hanging on to win, as Schofield took the next three rallies to give South Carolina the first-round NCAA Tournament win.
“I just tried to focus on each point (in the tiebreaker),” Schofield said. “I kept telling myself that pain is only temporary.”
#32 South Carolina (13-9) def. #33 VCU (18-6), 4-3
Singles
1. #45 Gira Schofield, USC, def. #39 Tatsiana Uvarova, VCU, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(7)
2. #74 Ana Marija Zubori, USC, def. Viktoria Konstantinova, VCU, 6-4, 6-3
3. Natasa Vuckovic, USC, def. Kateryna Yergina, VCU, 6-3, 6-1
4. Olena Leonchuk, VCU, def. Suzanna Mansour, USC, 6-1, 6-0
5. Laura Burns, VCU, def. Megan McGavock, USC, 6-2, 6-1
6. Jelena Rajic, USC, def. Kateryna Malakhova, VCU, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
Order of Finish: 4, 5, 3, 2, 6, 1
Doubles
1. Burns/Konstantinova, VCU, def. Mansour/Schofield, USC, 8-6
2. McGavock/Zubori, USC, vs. Vera Petrashevitch/Uvarova, VCU, 6-7 susp.
3. Leonchuk/Yergina, VCU, def. Rajic/Vuckovic, USC, 8-3
Order of Finish: 3, 1
