Spring Break
Men's tennis team ranked third
Issue date: 1/7/09 Section: Sports
The two-time defending NCAA champion Georgia men's tennis team begins 2009 ranked number three, according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings released Tuesday.
Georgia has now begun five straight seasons rated among the top three nationally. In 2008, Georgia began the season ranked number two.
Ohio State is in the top spot followed by Texas, the Bulldogs, UCLA and Virginia rounds out the top five. Georgia is the highest ranked school from the Southeastern Conference with Tennessee next at number eight followed by Mississippi and Florida completing the top 10.
The Bulldogs have a pair of singles players ranked in the top 40 in junior Nate Schnugg at No. 18 followed by junior Jamie Hunt at No. 35. Also, the Schnugg-Hunt duo checks in at No. 40 in the doubles rankings. In the fall, Schnugg went 14-6 including 7-5 versus ranked opponents. Hunt posted a 13-3 mark including 4-2 against ranked foes. In doubles, the pair went 7-4.
Georgia head coach Manuel Diaz enters his 21st season at the helm, and he said the Bulldogs are gearing up for next week's SEC Indoors in Lexington, Ky. Georgia will take its entire squad to the singles and doubles tournament.
"At this point, it's nice that people are keeping us near the top of the rankings, but we have a lot of work to do," said Diaz. "We are excited to get back on the courts this week. It's a tribute to our conference that we have four teams in the top 10, and it speaks volumes of the task at hand. It will be a tremendous challenge to go through conference play and it will prepare us well to build momentum for the post season. We need to continue to improve like we did in the fall."
The Bulldogs have played for the last three NCAA Championships, winning it in 2007 and 2008. Classes resume at UGA this Thursday. The first team dual match will be Jan. 27 here against Clemson at 3 p.m.
- Georgia Sports Communications
Georgia has now begun five straight seasons rated among the top three nationally. In 2008, Georgia began the season ranked number two.
Ohio State is in the top spot followed by Texas, the Bulldogs, UCLA and Virginia rounds out the top five. Georgia is the highest ranked school from the Southeastern Conference with Tennessee next at number eight followed by Mississippi and Florida completing the top 10.
The Bulldogs have a pair of singles players ranked in the top 40 in junior Nate Schnugg at No. 18 followed by junior Jamie Hunt at No. 35. Also, the Schnugg-Hunt duo checks in at No. 40 in the doubles rankings. In the fall, Schnugg went 14-6 including 7-5 versus ranked opponents. Hunt posted a 13-3 mark including 4-2 against ranked foes. In doubles, the pair went 7-4.
Georgia head coach Manuel Diaz enters his 21st season at the helm, and he said the Bulldogs are gearing up for next week's SEC Indoors in Lexington, Ky. Georgia will take its entire squad to the singles and doubles tournament.
"At this point, it's nice that people are keeping us near the top of the rankings, but we have a lot of work to do," said Diaz. "We are excited to get back on the courts this week. It's a tribute to our conference that we have four teams in the top 10, and it speaks volumes of the task at hand. It will be a tremendous challenge to go through conference play and it will prepare us well to build momentum for the post season. We need to continue to improve like we did in the fall."
The Bulldogs have played for the last three NCAA Championships, winning it in 2007 and 2008. Classes resume at UGA this Thursday. The first team dual match will be Jan. 27 here against Clemson at 3 p.m.
- Georgia Sports Communications
Be the first to comment on this story