Spring Break
Men's tennis tops Pepperdine, faces Ole Miss in quarterfinals
Issue date: 5/16/08 Section: Sports
The No. 4-seeded Georgia men's tennis team (24-3) topped Pepperdine (20-7) by a 4-1 score in the Round of 16 of the NCAA Championships in Tulsa, Friday. The match was clinched by sophomore Christian Vitulli (Mombasa, Kenya) from the sixth position as he took down Alex Moreno, 6-3, 6-4. Georgia will now meet No. 5-seeded Ole Miss (24-4) in the quarterfinals, Sunday at noon eastern.
"I am very happy with the way we responded today," said Georgia head coach Manuel Diaz. "Our guys were looking forward to getting out of the gates, they were excited to play today. We played great doubles, we were focused in singles and we provided a lot of energy for each other."
Georgia set the tone of the match early in doubles play as they grabbed a break to go up 2-0 in all three positions. The Bulldog duo of senior Luis Flores (Xalapa, Mexico) and freshman Javier Garrapiz (Huesca, Spain) got off the court first with an 8-2 victory over Mahmoud Kamel and James Lemke in the second position. The 17th-ranked Georgia sophomore tandem of Jamie Hunt (San Antonio, Texas) and Nate Schnugg (Medford, Ore.) closed out the doubles point with an 8-1 victory at the top spot, taking down Bassam Beidas and Johannes de Villiers. The third doubles match was halted with the Georgia pairing of senior Travis Helgeson (Overland Park, Kan.) and Vitulli trailing Omar Altmann and Brian Brogan, 7-5.
"I think getting up early created a lot of momentum for us," said Diaz. "We got up at all three doubles, even though No. 3 was down when it was clinched, it still allowed us to relax and get into the swing of things."
"Getting up early was really big," said Hunt. "We have two new doubles teams coming into this tournament and we have been practicing our doubles a lot. We are really confident in our doubles right now. It was important to come out and get off to a good start."
In singles action, 121st-ranked Garrapiz put the Bulldogs up 2-0 with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over de Villiers from the fifth position. Just minutes later, 59th-ranked Flores took it to a 3-0 Georgia advantage as he topped James Lemke in the third spot, 6-1, 6-4.
Pepperdine then cut into the Georgia lead with a win from the first position as 37th-ranked Beidas took down 4th-ranked Helgeson, 6-2, 6-4. That was all Pepperdine would muster though, as Vitulli closed out the win. The match-clincher was Vitulli's his fourth of the year.
The remaining two singles matches were halted once the team match was clinched. At the time, 15th-ranked Schnugg was just beginning his third set after splitting the first two, 6-2, 4-6. Despite the fact that it went unfinished, arguably the most entertaining match of the contest came from 38th-ranked Hunt in the fourth position. After falling behind 0-5 to Kamel, Hunt rallied to win the next seven straight games and capture the first set, 7-5. He then got up a break early in the second set and was leading 5-4, serving for the match, when Vitulli clinched it on the adjacent court.
"I came out fine but he was just hitting winners left and right," said Hunt. "It is tough to play in a match like that. But I just stayed positive and tried to get as many points as possible."
"With Jamie going down 0-5 and then coming back on the court next to me, it really inspired me to play better," said Vitulli. "It kept me going. When it got close and we both had an opportunity to clinch, I just focused on my court and played each point the best I could."
"Even though Jamie didn't clinch, what he did was so important," said Diaz. "It affected all of his teammates positively and his comeback inspired the rest of the guys. He has been an unbelievable asset all year."
Hunt is unbeaten in his last 19 matches, winning 16 and having three matches halted. In all three halted matches, Hunt had won the first set. In two of them he was leading in the second set, and in the third, he was tied.
Pepperdine was without its No. 1 singles player, 11th-ranked Andre Begemann, who returned to Germany following the first and second rounds of the tournament, due to the death of his mother.
"Pepperdine is in a tough situation and we feel for Andre," said Diaz. "It has been a rough week or two for the team and our hats go off to them."
Georgia advances to the quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive year, where they will meet No. 5-seeded Ole Miss. Both teams will get a day off as the women's tournament resumes with quarterfinal action Saturday. This one-day break will be their last
The Bulldogs and Rebels are familiar foes and will now meet for the eighth time in four years. Georgia has won the last five consecutive matches and six of the last seven. The only Rebel win in that time span came in the 2005 NCAA Quarterfinals in College Station, Texas, by a 4-2 score. In their last meeting, Georgia won a 5-2 decision in Athens on March 2.
Ole Miss reached the quarters by way of a 4-2 victory over No. 12 seed North Carolina, coming back to win after losing the doubles point.
Fans can follow of the NCAA Tournament action, including live scoring and live video feeds, by visiting tournament central at www.tulsahurricane.com.
Pepperdine vs Georgia
May 16, 2008 at Tulsa, Okla.
(Michael D. Case Tennis Center)
#5 Georgia 4, #13 Pepperdine 1
Singles competition
1. #37 Bassam Beidas (PEPP) def. #4 Travis Helgeson (UGA) 6-2, 6-4
2. #15 Nate Schnugg (UGA) vs. #117 Omar Altmann (PEPP) 6-2, 4-6, 1-0, unfinished
3. #59 Luis Flores (UGA) def. James Lemke (PEPP) 6-1, 6-4
4. Jamie Hunt (UGA) vs. Mahmoud Kamel (PEPP) 7-5, 5-4, unfinished
5. #121 Javier Garrapiz (UGA) def. Johannes de Villiers (PEPP) 6-2, 6-1
6. Christian Vitulli (UGA) def. Alex Moreno (PEPP) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #17 Jamie Hunt/Nate Schnugg (UGA) def. Bassam Beidas/Johannes de Villiers (PEPP) 8-1
2. Luis Flores/Javier Garrapiz (UGA) def. Mahmoud Kamel/James Lemke (PEPP) 8-2
3. Travis Helgeson/Christian Vitulli (UGA) vs. Omar Altmann/Brian Brogan (PEPP) 5-7, unfinished
Match Notes:
Pepperdine 20-7; National ranking #13
Georgia 24-3; National ranking #5
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (5,3,1,6)
NCAA Round of 16
Georgia - No. 4 Seed
Pepperdine - No. 13 Seed
- Georgia Sports Communications
"I am very happy with the way we responded today," said Georgia head coach Manuel Diaz. "Our guys were looking forward to getting out of the gates, they were excited to play today. We played great doubles, we were focused in singles and we provided a lot of energy for each other."
Georgia set the tone of the match early in doubles play as they grabbed a break to go up 2-0 in all three positions. The Bulldog duo of senior Luis Flores (Xalapa, Mexico) and freshman Javier Garrapiz (Huesca, Spain) got off the court first with an 8-2 victory over Mahmoud Kamel and James Lemke in the second position. The 17th-ranked Georgia sophomore tandem of Jamie Hunt (San Antonio, Texas) and Nate Schnugg (Medford, Ore.) closed out the doubles point with an 8-1 victory at the top spot, taking down Bassam Beidas and Johannes de Villiers. The third doubles match was halted with the Georgia pairing of senior Travis Helgeson (Overland Park, Kan.) and Vitulli trailing Omar Altmann and Brian Brogan, 7-5.
"I think getting up early created a lot of momentum for us," said Diaz. "We got up at all three doubles, even though No. 3 was down when it was clinched, it still allowed us to relax and get into the swing of things."
"Getting up early was really big," said Hunt. "We have two new doubles teams coming into this tournament and we have been practicing our doubles a lot. We are really confident in our doubles right now. It was important to come out and get off to a good start."
In singles action, 121st-ranked Garrapiz put the Bulldogs up 2-0 with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over de Villiers from the fifth position. Just minutes later, 59th-ranked Flores took it to a 3-0 Georgia advantage as he topped James Lemke in the third spot, 6-1, 6-4.
Pepperdine then cut into the Georgia lead with a win from the first position as 37th-ranked Beidas took down 4th-ranked Helgeson, 6-2, 6-4. That was all Pepperdine would muster though, as Vitulli closed out the win. The match-clincher was Vitulli's his fourth of the year.
The remaining two singles matches were halted once the team match was clinched. At the time, 15th-ranked Schnugg was just beginning his third set after splitting the first two, 6-2, 4-6. Despite the fact that it went unfinished, arguably the most entertaining match of the contest came from 38th-ranked Hunt in the fourth position. After falling behind 0-5 to Kamel, Hunt rallied to win the next seven straight games and capture the first set, 7-5. He then got up a break early in the second set and was leading 5-4, serving for the match, when Vitulli clinched it on the adjacent court.
"I came out fine but he was just hitting winners left and right," said Hunt. "It is tough to play in a match like that. But I just stayed positive and tried to get as many points as possible."
"With Jamie going down 0-5 and then coming back on the court next to me, it really inspired me to play better," said Vitulli. "It kept me going. When it got close and we both had an opportunity to clinch, I just focused on my court and played each point the best I could."
"Even though Jamie didn't clinch, what he did was so important," said Diaz. "It affected all of his teammates positively and his comeback inspired the rest of the guys. He has been an unbelievable asset all year."
Hunt is unbeaten in his last 19 matches, winning 16 and having three matches halted. In all three halted matches, Hunt had won the first set. In two of them he was leading in the second set, and in the third, he was tied.
Pepperdine was without its No. 1 singles player, 11th-ranked Andre Begemann, who returned to Germany following the first and second rounds of the tournament, due to the death of his mother.
"Pepperdine is in a tough situation and we feel for Andre," said Diaz. "It has been a rough week or two for the team and our hats go off to them."
Georgia advances to the quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive year, where they will meet No. 5-seeded Ole Miss. Both teams will get a day off as the women's tournament resumes with quarterfinal action Saturday. This one-day break will be their last
The Bulldogs and Rebels are familiar foes and will now meet for the eighth time in four years. Georgia has won the last five consecutive matches and six of the last seven. The only Rebel win in that time span came in the 2005 NCAA Quarterfinals in College Station, Texas, by a 4-2 score. In their last meeting, Georgia won a 5-2 decision in Athens on March 2.
Ole Miss reached the quarters by way of a 4-2 victory over No. 12 seed North Carolina, coming back to win after losing the doubles point.
Fans can follow of the NCAA Tournament action, including live scoring and live video feeds, by visiting tournament central at www.tulsahurricane.com.
Pepperdine vs Georgia
May 16, 2008 at Tulsa, Okla.
(Michael D. Case Tennis Center)
#5 Georgia 4, #13 Pepperdine 1
Singles competition
1. #37 Bassam Beidas (PEPP) def. #4 Travis Helgeson (UGA) 6-2, 6-4
2. #15 Nate Schnugg (UGA) vs. #117 Omar Altmann (PEPP) 6-2, 4-6, 1-0, unfinished
3. #59 Luis Flores (UGA) def. James Lemke (PEPP) 6-1, 6-4
4. Jamie Hunt (UGA) vs. Mahmoud Kamel (PEPP) 7-5, 5-4, unfinished
5. #121 Javier Garrapiz (UGA) def. Johannes de Villiers (PEPP) 6-2, 6-1
6. Christian Vitulli (UGA) def. Alex Moreno (PEPP) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #17 Jamie Hunt/Nate Schnugg (UGA) def. Bassam Beidas/Johannes de Villiers (PEPP) 8-1
2. Luis Flores/Javier Garrapiz (UGA) def. Mahmoud Kamel/James Lemke (PEPP) 8-2
3. Travis Helgeson/Christian Vitulli (UGA) vs. Omar Altmann/Brian Brogan (PEPP) 5-7, unfinished
Match Notes:
Pepperdine 20-7; National ranking #13
Georgia 24-3; National ranking #5
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (5,3,1,6)
NCAA Round of 16
Georgia - No. 4 Seed
Pepperdine - No. 13 Seed
- Georgia Sports Communications
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