Spring Break
Men's tennis bounces back with win over Mississippi State
Issue date: 3/9/09 Section: Sports
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Fourth-ranked Georgia earned its first Southeastern Conference win of the year with a 5-2 decision over Mississippi State here Sunday.
The Bulldogs improved to 12-2 overall (1-1 SEC) while MSU dropped to 4-4 (0-2 SEC). Georgia swept the doubles for an early 1-0 advantage and then captured four of the six singles matches for the final margin. Georgia went 1-1 on its trip to Mississippi as #10 Ole Miss edged the Bulldogs 4-3 in Oxford this past Friday.
Georgia's 12th-ranked duo of Jamie Hunt and Nate Schnugg made quick work of MSU's Chris Doerr and Tanner Stump, beating them 8-2 in the No. 1 match. At No. 3, Georgia's Josh Varela and Christian Vitulli clinched the doubles point with an 8-6 win over Louis Cant and Artem Ilyushin. With the point determined, the No. 2 match went to a tiebreaker at 7-all. Georgia's Drake Bernstein and Javier Garrapiz defeated Antonio Lastre and Daniel Sanchez 9-7 to give the Bulldogs a sweep. The Bernstein/Garrapiz duo moved up one spot in the lineup Sunday after going 9-2 this season at No. 3. They are 15-5 overall.
Georgia claimed the first set in all six matches, and Hunt and Schnugg provided the Bulldogs with a comfortable 3-0 lead with straight set wins. The 60th-ranked Hunt defeated Sanchez 6-2,6-2 at No. 2. Then, seventh-ranked Schnugg beat 118th-ranked Ryan Farlow 6-4,6-1. Schnugg improved to 27-8 overall and 12-2 in dual matches. The junior All-American Bulldog has won seven straight singles matches.
MSU rallied to split sets at the bottom of the lineup. They closed the gap to 3-1 when Doerr outlasted Vitulli 2-6,6-4,6-1 at No. 6.
"We dealt with some difficult conditions, it was very windy, up to 25 miles per hour, and it took some time to get used to, but I was with pleased with our guys hung in there and played well," said Georgia coach Manuel Diaz. "All three of our doubles teams took care of business, and we had some early momentum in the singles. However, we lost the second set at No. 6 and then No. 5 and eventually at No. 4. The match got a lot tighter. MSU has a fine young team."
Varela clinched the win with a 6-1,4-6,6-3 victory over Cant at No. 5 that made it 4-1. Then, Garrapiz extended his singles winning streak to 11 with a 7-5,6-2 decision over Ilyushin at No. 3 for a 5-1 lead. He is 11-0 in dual matches this year and 23-6 overall.
MSU picked up the final point of the match at No. 4. Lastre had a 3-1 advantage in the final set over Bernstein when Diaz opted to get the Bulldogs back to Athens. Thus, Bernstein retired and Lastre got the win for the final.
Georgia returns to the Dan Magill Tennis Complex for its next two SEC matches. The Bulldogs will play host to ninth-ranked Florida Friday at 2:30 p.m.
#4 Georgia 5, Mississippi State 2
Mar 8, 2009 at Starkville, Miss. (Pitts Tennis Centre)
Doubles
1. #12 Jamie Hunt/Nate Schnugg (UGA) def. Christopher Doerr/Tanner Stump (MSU) 8-2
2. Drake Bernstein/Javier Garrapiz (UGA) def. Antonio Lastre/Daniel Sanchez (MSU) 8-7(9-7)
3. Josh Varela/Christian Vitulli (UGA) def. Louis Cant/Artem Ilyushin (MSU) 8-6
Singles
1. #7 Nate Schnugg (UGA) def. #118 Ryan Farlow (MSU) 6-4, 6-1
2. #60 Jamie Hunt (UGA) def. Daniel Sanchez (MSU) 6-2, 6-2
3. #84 Javier Garrapiz (UGA) def. Artem Ilyushin (MSU) 7-5, 6-2
4. Antonio Lastre (MSU) def. Drake Bernstein (UGA) 2-6, 7-6(4), 3-1, retired
5. Josh Varela (UGA) def. Louis Cant (MSU) 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
6. Christopher Doerr (MSU) def. Christian Vitulli (UGA) 2-6, 6-4, 6-1
Match Notes
Georgia 12-2 (1-1 SEC); National ranking #4; Mississippi State 4-4 (0-2 SEC)
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,1,6,5,3,4)
T-3:44
- Georgia Sports Communications
The Bulldogs improved to 12-2 overall (1-1 SEC) while MSU dropped to 4-4 (0-2 SEC). Georgia swept the doubles for an early 1-0 advantage and then captured four of the six singles matches for the final margin. Georgia went 1-1 on its trip to Mississippi as #10 Ole Miss edged the Bulldogs 4-3 in Oxford this past Friday.
Georgia's 12th-ranked duo of Jamie Hunt and Nate Schnugg made quick work of MSU's Chris Doerr and Tanner Stump, beating them 8-2 in the No. 1 match. At No. 3, Georgia's Josh Varela and Christian Vitulli clinched the doubles point with an 8-6 win over Louis Cant and Artem Ilyushin. With the point determined, the No. 2 match went to a tiebreaker at 7-all. Georgia's Drake Bernstein and Javier Garrapiz defeated Antonio Lastre and Daniel Sanchez 9-7 to give the Bulldogs a sweep. The Bernstein/Garrapiz duo moved up one spot in the lineup Sunday after going 9-2 this season at No. 3. They are 15-5 overall.
Georgia claimed the first set in all six matches, and Hunt and Schnugg provided the Bulldogs with a comfortable 3-0 lead with straight set wins. The 60th-ranked Hunt defeated Sanchez 6-2,6-2 at No. 2. Then, seventh-ranked Schnugg beat 118th-ranked Ryan Farlow 6-4,6-1. Schnugg improved to 27-8 overall and 12-2 in dual matches. The junior All-American Bulldog has won seven straight singles matches.
MSU rallied to split sets at the bottom of the lineup. They closed the gap to 3-1 when Doerr outlasted Vitulli 2-6,6-4,6-1 at No. 6.
"We dealt with some difficult conditions, it was very windy, up to 25 miles per hour, and it took some time to get used to, but I was with pleased with our guys hung in there and played well," said Georgia coach Manuel Diaz. "All three of our doubles teams took care of business, and we had some early momentum in the singles. However, we lost the second set at No. 6 and then No. 5 and eventually at No. 4. The match got a lot tighter. MSU has a fine young team."
Varela clinched the win with a 6-1,4-6,6-3 victory over Cant at No. 5 that made it 4-1. Then, Garrapiz extended his singles winning streak to 11 with a 7-5,6-2 decision over Ilyushin at No. 3 for a 5-1 lead. He is 11-0 in dual matches this year and 23-6 overall.
MSU picked up the final point of the match at No. 4. Lastre had a 3-1 advantage in the final set over Bernstein when Diaz opted to get the Bulldogs back to Athens. Thus, Bernstein retired and Lastre got the win for the final.
Georgia returns to the Dan Magill Tennis Complex for its next two SEC matches. The Bulldogs will play host to ninth-ranked Florida Friday at 2:30 p.m.
#4 Georgia 5, Mississippi State 2
Mar 8, 2009 at Starkville, Miss. (Pitts Tennis Centre)
Doubles
1. #12 Jamie Hunt/Nate Schnugg (UGA) def. Christopher Doerr/Tanner Stump (MSU) 8-2
2. Drake Bernstein/Javier Garrapiz (UGA) def. Antonio Lastre/Daniel Sanchez (MSU) 8-7(9-7)
3. Josh Varela/Christian Vitulli (UGA) def. Louis Cant/Artem Ilyushin (MSU) 8-6
Singles
1. #7 Nate Schnugg (UGA) def. #118 Ryan Farlow (MSU) 6-4, 6-1
2. #60 Jamie Hunt (UGA) def. Daniel Sanchez (MSU) 6-2, 6-2
3. #84 Javier Garrapiz (UGA) def. Artem Ilyushin (MSU) 7-5, 6-2
4. Antonio Lastre (MSU) def. Drake Bernstein (UGA) 2-6, 7-6(4), 3-1, retired
5. Josh Varela (UGA) def. Louis Cant (MSU) 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
6. Christopher Doerr (MSU) def. Christian Vitulli (UGA) 2-6, 6-4, 6-1
Match Notes
Georgia 12-2 (1-1 SEC); National ranking #4; Mississippi State 4-4 (0-2 SEC)
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,1,6,5,3,4)
T-3:44
- Georgia Sports Communications
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