University of Georgia Athletics
2010 Men's Tennis Season Recap
June 09, 2010 | Men's Tennis
June 7, 2010
ATHENS, Ga. --- The 2009-10 season marked the record 26th time in which the NCAA Tennis Championships found their way to Athens, Ga. And the Georgia men's tennis team took advantage - advancing to the team's fourth semifinal in the last five seasons in front of the home crowd.
After advancing to the championships with regional-round wins over UNC Greensboro and Florida State, the Bulldogs rolled past sixth-ranked Florida and No. 20 Oklahoma to stake their place in the "Final Four," defeating a Sooners team that was coached by former Bulldog standout and assistant coach John Roddick. Georgia was then ousted by the second-seeded Tennessee Volunteers by a 4-1 score, but that match was closer than the scoreboard indicated as the Bulldogs narrowly missed snagging the doubles point and then was leading at No. 2 singles before that match was suspended.
The season would continue for rising senior Javier Garrapiz, who made the singles field with an at-large bid and advanced to the Round of 32 to represent the Bulldogs.
Georgia finished the campaign with an overall record of 21-8 and 9-2 in the always-competitive SEC (including a perfect 9-0 start to the conference slate). The Dogs were a staggering 16-3 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex and extended the team's home winning streak to 71 straight matches before seeing it end with a 4-2 loss to the eventual national champion USC Trojans on March 19.
Georgia's first SEC loss of the year came against Florida on April 11 and its only other of the year was to the Vols on April 17 in Knoxville, a match UGA entered with a share of the conference regular-season title on the line.
The Bulldogs enjoyed a couple of other milestones this season as head coach Manuel Diaz captured the illustrious 500th win of his career with a 4-3 win over Vanderbilt on March 14 at home. Georgia's Senior Day festivities on April 4 played out in fitting fashion as the final three wins of the day came from a trio of seniors to secure the class' 100th win of their careers. The fall season had featured Georgia's usual tune-ups as it again hosted the Southern Intercollegiate Tournament and the Bulldog Scramble.
Overall, the Bulldogs turned in another successful season despite some nagging injuries and the mid-season loss of freshman Bo Seal, who was suspended from the team for a violation of team academic policies.
After a disappointing first-round loss to Auburn in the SEC Tournament, the Dogs turned it up when it mattered most down the stretch and, though losing a core group of seniors in Nate Schnugg, Jamie Hunt, and Christian Vitulli, enjoy a bright future ahead as the Dogs welcome in a strong recruting class in addition to the transfer of Wil Spencer from Texas A&M.
At the conclusion of the season Georgia associate head coach Will Glenn was named the ITA's National Assistant Coach of the Year in his fifth season on the staff. Meanwhile, two of the Bulldogs' top returnees - Garrapiz and Drake Bernstein - end the year ranked in the final ITA poll at Nos. 18 and 105, respectively, and will back at it in 2010-11.
