University of Georgia Athletics
University of Georgia
Furman
Bernstein Wins 100th Match In Sweep Of Furman
February 26, 2011 | Men's Tennis
Feb. 26, 2011
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ATHENS, Ga. --- Senior Drake Bernstein won the 100th singles match of his career and clinched the match as the 12th-ranked Georgia men's tennis team defeated Furman 7-0 Saturday afternoon in the outdoor opener at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Bernstein's career day pushes Georgia to 8-3 on the season as the squad won its third match in a row and remained a perfect 6-0 at home on the season. Furman falls to 0-10 on the season.
"This is something I've been looking forward to for a long time," Bernstein said. "I set my sights on it last year but I didn't think it would come this early. I am glad I'll have a chance now to build on 100 wins and get a few more."
"Today was good - everyone knows this is one of the best outdoor facilities in the country and everyone was excited to get and play today," he said. "We have great fans who come out and support us. It doesn't get much better than this in college tennis."
Georgia won the doubles point for the third match in a row, beginning with an 8-0 shutout at No. 2 as No. 37 Drake Bernstein and Wil Spencer defeated Tyler Droll and Andrei Chvetsov. It was just the second time this season at the No. 2 position for Bernstein and Spencer, who improve to 16-4 overall in 2010-11.
Georgia clinched the early 1-0 lead as Hernus Pieters and Garrett Brasseaux won 8-3 over Joel Cook and Watson Georgia - playing together for the first time. At No. 1, 41st-ranked Ignacio Taboada and Sadio Doumbia defeated Sawyer Duncan and Andrew Mellow by an 8-3 score as the Bulldogs swept a trio of doubles matches for the fourth time this season.
The Bulldogs quickly went up 2-0 as Pieters - coming off SEC Freshman of the Week honors - defeated Robbie Aru 6-0, 6-0 at No. 5 to capture his 20th win of the season and fourth in a row. Georgia's lead increased to 3-0 as 31st-ranked Doumbia downed Alex Christ 6-2, 6-1 at No. 3 to improve to 23-6 on the year. Next off was Bernstein - who provided his second clincher of the year and his 100th Georgia singles win with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Droll to move to 20-6 on the season.
No. 12 Spencer defeated Mellow, 6-0, 6-4, at No. 2 to give Georgia a 5-0 lead and improve to 23-7, and it became 6-0 when No. 24 Javier Garrapiz defeated Duncan 6-1, 6-4 at No. 1 to boost his record to 22-8. The sweep was completed when freshman Campbell Johnson won at No. 6 by a score of 6-3, 6-3 over Cook - picking up his 16th win of the season.
The Bulldogs are now a perfect 34-0 all-time vs. the Paladins and still undefeated at 54-0-1 vs. the Southern Conference. With Bernstein and Pieters winning their 20th matches of the season today, Georgia now has five players already at that mark on the season.
"I thought we played really well," said head coach Manuel Diaz. "I think we did a great job - our kids are playing good quality tennis. They were well-focused and I'm excited about it. They seem to be getting their rhythm. Now we embark on the SEC portion of our season next weekend. It'll be a great, tough, difficult challenge and we have a great match Friday vs. Auburn who has already beaten some great teams this season."
Today's match-up pitted two veterans of college tennis against one another as Furman head coach Paul Scarpa is currently the winningest NCAA tennis coach in history with 847 wins in 48 seasons, 45 of them with the Paladins. Diaz has 517 wins in 23 years with the Bulldogs.
Georgia will remain at home for two more, welcoming some Alabama rivals to Athens for the start of conference play. First up is Auburn next Fri., March 4 for a 2:30 p.m. start, followed by Alabama on Sun., March 6 at 1 p.m. Live scoring, live video streaming, and the Georgia Tennis Live Chat will be available for both matches on Georgiadogs.com.
#12 Georgia 7, Furman 0
Singles competition
1. #24 Javier Garrapiz (UGA) def. Sawyer Duncan (FUR) 6-1, 6-4
2. #12 Wil Spencer (UGA) def. Andrew Mellow (FUR) 6-0, 6-4
3. #31 Sadio Doumbia (UGA) def. Alex Christ (FUR) 6-2, 6-1
4. Drake Bernstein (UGA) def. Tyler Droll (FUR) 6-3, 6-2
5. Hernus Pieters (UGA) def. Robbie Aru (FUR) 6-0, 6-0
6. Campbell Johnson (UGA) def. Joel Cook (FUR) 6-3, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #41 Ignacio Taboada/Sadio Doumbia (UGA) def. Sawyer Duncan/Andrew Mellow (FUR) 8-3
2. #37 Drake Bernstein/Wil Spencer (UGA) def. Tyler Droll/Andrei Chvetsov (FUR) 8-0
3. Hernus Pieters/Garrett Brasseaux (UGA) def. Joel Cook/Watson George (FUR) 8-3
Match Notes:
Furman 0-10
Georgia 8-3; National ranking #12
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (5,3,4,2,1,6)
Official: Walt Williams T-2:40 A-452
