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Georgia Beats Georgia Tech For 24th Straight Time

Feb 7, 2010 by Georgia Sports Communications

ATHENS——-The seventh-ranked Georgia men’s tennis team swept the doubles point, then won four of six singles matches to claim a 5-2 victory over Georgia Tech Sunday at the Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Facility. The Bulldogs have now won 24 straight against the Yellow Jackets dating back to 1989 and improved to 50-1 in the series since 1969.

Junior Drake Bernstein, ranked No. 60, provided the clincher with a 7-6(0), 6-2 win over Eliot Potvin at No. 4.

“Our guys played a tremendous match today,” said Manuel Diaz, who has never lost to Georgia Tech in his 22 years as the Bulldogs’ head coach. “It was a fantastic doubles point. We were challenged in all three matches, but we hung in there. We stayed composed and did a terrific job. Then the first three singles were tremendous, and they all finished pretty quickly. Overall I thought it was terrific match by our guys.”

Georgia won a tightly-contested doubles point to take a 1-0 lead. Jamie Hunt and Nate Schnugg cruised past Miguel Muguruza and Ryan Smith, 8-2, then Bo Seal and Christian Vitulli claimed the doubles point with an 8-5 win over Juan Spir and Magin Ortiga. The Georgia duo jumped out to a 4-0 lead, fell behind 5-4 then rallied for the win. Javier Garrapiz and Bernstein completed the sweep with an 8-6 win over Dean O’Brien and Elliot Potvin after falling behind 4-1.

Schnugg, a two-time All-American whose brother was a standout at Georgia Tech in 2003, claimed the first singles win for the Bulldogs with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Juan Spir at No. 2. Hunt, another senior All-American, quickly followed with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Dean O’Brien at No. 3 to extend Georgia’s lead to 3-0. That set the stage for Bernstein, who clinched his first match of the season.

“Last year against Georgia Tech I played No. 6, so the match was already over and it didn’t mean that much,” Bernstein said. “This year it was good to clinch against Tech. It’s always good to beat those guys. We’re happy we got the win today because they played very well.”

Georgia Tech’s first point came at No. 1 where Guillermo Gomez held off No. 45 Garrapiz, 6-4, 7-6(1). Garrapiz led 4-1 in the second set, but third-ranked Gomez came back to give the Yellow Jackets their first point against Georgia in a dual match since 2006. At No. 5, Seal split the first two sets with Ortiga before falling in the third set super-tiebreaker, 6-2, 3-6, 1-0(8).

“They challenged us at No.1 in what was a toss-up match,” Diaz said. “Javy probably is not quite playing his best. He might be pressing a little bit, but I think he is going to be fine. He is such a competitor. Even when he doesn’t play his best tennis, he’s in every match. I think he needs a little rest tomorrow and some mental rest as well. I know he’s going to be ready for Charlottesville.”

Vitulli finished off Georgia’s win with a 7-5, 6-3 win over No. 112 Dusan Miljevic at No. 6.

Georgia returns to action at the ITA National Team Indoor Tournament in Charlottesville, Va., Feb. 12-15. The Bulldogs are seeded seventh and will face the No. 10 seed Ole Miss Friday at 6:30 p.m. Georgia has won the National Team Indoors twice (2006, 2007) and has reached the finals on six occasions (1982, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2009). Last year the Bulldogs fell to Virginia in the finals.

Tennis Match Results
Georgia Tech vs Georgia
Feb 07, 2010 at Athens, Ga.
(Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Facility)

7. Georgia 5, #41 Georgia Tech 2

Singles competition

1. #3 Guillermo Gomez (GT) def. #45 Javier Garrapiz (UGA) 6-4, 7-6 (7-1)
2. Nate Schnugg (UGA) def. Juan Spir (GT) 6-4, 6-3
3. Jamie Hunt (UGA) def. Dean O’Brien (GT) 6-2, 6-3
4. #60 Drake Bernstein (UGA) def. Eliot Potvin (GT) 7-6, 6-2 (7-0)
5. Magin Ortiga (GT) def. Bo Seal (UGA) 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (10-8)
6. Christian Vitulli (UGA) def. #112 Dusan Miljevic (GT) 7-5, 6-3

Doubles competition

1. Nate Schnugg/Jamie Hunt (UGA) def. Miguel Muguruza/Ryan Smith (GT) 8-2
2. Drake Bernstein/Javier Garrapiz (UGA) def. Dean O’Brien/Eliot Potvin (GT) 8-6
3. Bo Seal/Christian Vitulli (UGA) def. Juan Spir/Magin Ortiga (GT) 8-5

Match Notes:
Georgia Tech 6-2; National ranking #41
Georgia 4-0; National ranking #7
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,3,4,1,5,6)
Official: Walt Williams T-4:18 A-409