University of Georgia Athletics
Georgia Falls To UF For First SEC Loss
April 11, 2010 | Men's Tennis
The loss was Georgia’s first in SEC competition this season as the Bulldogs fall to 17-5 (9-1). That leaves Tennessee as the only unbeaten left in the conference with one weekend remaining in the regular season. Georgia is now 4-1 on the road this season and 4-5 against the top-25.
Missing from the lineup this afternoon was senior Christian Vitulli, who was limited in doubles action and sat out singles after a knee injury last time out, and freshman Bo Seal, who continues to serve his three-match suspension.
“I’m really proud of our guys for coming over here after the difficult week we’ve had,” said head coach Manuel Diaz. “Our guys have overcome a lot and put forth a super, super effort today. I’m just very impressed with Florida. They are a very good team and they fought hard and deserved to win. Hopefully we can get healthier and have all hands on board, and improve as a team, which to this point we’ve been doing.”
The Bulldogs started off by picking up the coveted doubles point against the host Gators despite falling at No. 3 in a hurry. There, the team of junior Drake Bernstein and freshman Will Oliver were bested, 8-1, by Florida’s Bob Van Overbeek and Daniel Cash to give the Gators the early advantage.
But Georgia came right back to even the score with an 8-6 win at No. 2 as seniors Christian Vitulli and Jamie Hunt battled with 49th-ranked Sekou Bangoura and Joey Burkhardt. Vitulli and Hunt broke serve to take a 7-6 lead and held for the win in a back-and-forth contest.
The No. 1 team of Javier Garrapiz and Nate Schnugg, pairing up for just the second time this season, clinched the doubles point with a matching 8-6 victory over 12th-ranked Antoine Benneteau and Alex Lacroix. Just like the No. 2 match, the teams traded points and with Florida serving down a break, the Bulldogs broke to capture the 8-6 win and the early 1-0 lead.
Florida evened it up with a quick 6-0, 6-2 victory at six singles as Nassim Slilam defeated Oliver – who again stepped in for Seal.
Florida went up 2-1 with a win at No. 1 singles, as No. 86 Schnugg fell in straight sets of 6-3, 7-5 to No. 7 Lacroix. Freshman Will Reynolds filled in at No. 5 for Vitulli and was edged out, 6-4, 6-4, by Bangoura as the Gators enjoyed a 3-1 lead after three straight singles triumphs.
Georgia stopped the skid, though, with a win at No. 2 singles as 22nd-ranked Garrapiz posted back-to-back 6-3 decisions over Burkhardt to cut the Florida lead to 3-2. The win was Garrapiz’s 26th of the season and halted a three-match slide for him.
That left Bernstein and Hunt on court for the Bulldogs, each with chances to come away with wins. Bernstein won the first set 6-2, before falling in a second-set tiebreaker to send it to a third against Van Overbeek. In the third set, the score was knotted at one apiece before Van Overbeek took a 3-1 lead. Finding himself down 5-3, Bernstein held serve to make it 5-4, but Van Overbeek capitalized on match point and won 6-4 to clinch it for the Gators.
On court three, Hunt finished out his match after a first-set tiebreak loss and a 6-2 win in the second. In the third set, Hunt fell 6-2 to Benneteau as Florida capped off the 5-2 home victory to jump to 16-3 (8-1) on the season. The win for UF head coach Andy Jackson was his 100th at home for his career.
Georgia is now 0-2 against UF this season following a 4-0 loss to the Gators on Feb. 14 as part of the ITA National Team Indoors.
The Dogs will close out the regular season with next Saturday’s match vs. third-ranked Tennessee on the road in Knoxville, Tenn.
#6 Florida 5, #8 Georgia 2
Singles competition
1. #7 Alex Lacroix (UF) def. #86 Nate Schnugg (UGA) 6-3, 7-5
2. #22 Javier Garrapiz (UGA) def. Joey Burkhardt (UF) 6-3, 6-3
3. Antoine Benneteau (UF) def. Jamie Hunt (UGA) 7-6 (8-6), 2-6, 6-2
4. Bob van Overbeek (UF) def. Drake Bernstein (UGA) 2-6, 7-6 (6-3), 6-4
5. Sekou Bangoura (UF) def. Will Reynolds (UGA) 6-4, 6-4
6. Nassim Slilam (UF) def. Will Oliver (UGA) 6-0, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Nate Schnugg/Javier Garrapiz (UGA) def. #12 Antoine Benneteau/Alex Lacroix (UF) 8-6
2. Jamie Hunt/Christian Vitulli (UGA) def. #49 Sekou Bangoura/Joey Burkhardt (UF) 8-6
3. Bob van Overbeek/Dan Cash (UF) def. Drake Bernstein/Will Oliver (UGA) 8-1
Match Notes:
Georgia 17-5 (9-1); National ranking #8
Florida 16-3 (8-1); National ranking #6
