Spring Break
Men's tennis falls to Tennessee in SEC semis
Issue date: 4/26/09 Section: Sports
AUBURN, Ala. - For the second straight day, the fourth-ranked Georgia Bulldog tennis team fell behind early after dropping the doubles point, but this time was unable to make the comeback as it dropped a 4-1 contest to the sixth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament Saturday at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
The loss to Tennessee comes a week after Georgia defeated the Volunteers 5-2 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
"They outplayed us today," head coach Manuel Diaz said. "We fought very hard, but we didn't play well enough in several key spots. They took advantage of the momentum they created for themselves. We didn't play well. And you have to give Tennessee credit; they played well today."
Similar to Friday's match with Auburn, the Bulldogs fell behind early after losing the doubles point to the Volunteers. The No. 2 doubles match was the first match to complete as the 42nd-ranked Volunteer team of Boris Conkic and Matteo Fago defeated the Georgia team of Drake Bernstein and Javier Garrapiz 8-2. At No. 1 doubles, the fifth-ranked Tennessee team of John-Patrick Smith and Davey Sandgren defeated the fourth-ranked Bulldog duo of Nate Schnugg and Jamie Hunt 8-6.
The singles matches opened with the No. 5 matchup finishing first as Tennessee's Christian Hansen knocked out Bernstein in two sets, 6-3, 6-2, to make the score 2-0 Tennessee. No. 4 singles was the next to finish as Georgia's Josh Varela gave the Bulldogs their first point of the match, defeating Sandgren 6-4, 6-3.
Shortly thereafter, the top singles matchup gave the Volunteers a 3-1 lead with the eighth-ranked Smith taking a 6-4, 6-4 decision over 11th-ranked Schnugg. The decisive Tennessee point came at No. 6 singles, where Matt Brewer survived a three-set match with Christian Vitulli, a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory.
Hunt and Garrapiz were leading their matches before play was suspended. Both were up a set with Garrapiz leading 6-4, 2-3, while Hunt was ahead 6-3, 3-4.
Georgia drops to 22-3 on the season, suffering its first loss since a 4-3 decision to Ole Miss on March 6, a streak of 11 victories.
"We have to get back home and re-energize ourselves and recommit ourselves to what we are doing," Diaz said. "We've done a lot already this season, but it is imperative to have leadership and focus as we go through exams and manage our time and try to prepare the NCAAs."
The Bulldogs will have some time off from competition before they begin play in the NCAA Regionals May 8. The host sites and pairings will be officially announced Tuesday.
#4 Georgia (22-3), #6 Tennessee (21-5)
Doubles
1. #5 John-Patrick Smith/Davey Sandgren (UT) def. #4 Jamie Hunt/Nate Schnugg (UGA), 8-6
2. #42 Boris Conkic/Matteo Fago (UT) def. Drake Bernstein/Javier Garrapiz (UGA), 8-2
3. Matt Brewer/Bryan Swartz (UT) vs. Borja Malo/Christian Vitulli (UGA), 6-4, unfinished
Singles
1. #8 John-Patrick Smith (UT) def. #11 Nate Schnugg (UGA), 6-4, 6-4
2. #66 Javier Garrapiz (UGA) vs. #33 Boris Conkic (UT), 6-4, 2-3, unfinished
3. #78 Jamie Hunt (UGA) vs. Matteo Fago (UT), 6-3, 3-4, unfinished
4. Josh Varela (UGA) def. Davey Sandgren (UT), 6-4, 6-3
5. Christian Hansen (UT) def. Drake Bernstein (UGA), 6-3, 6-2
6. Matt Brewer (UT) def. Christian Vitulli (UGA), 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (5,4,3,6)
- Georgia Sports Communications
The loss to Tennessee comes a week after Georgia defeated the Volunteers 5-2 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
"They outplayed us today," head coach Manuel Diaz said. "We fought very hard, but we didn't play well enough in several key spots. They took advantage of the momentum they created for themselves. We didn't play well. And you have to give Tennessee credit; they played well today."
Similar to Friday's match with Auburn, the Bulldogs fell behind early after losing the doubles point to the Volunteers. The No. 2 doubles match was the first match to complete as the 42nd-ranked Volunteer team of Boris Conkic and Matteo Fago defeated the Georgia team of Drake Bernstein and Javier Garrapiz 8-2. At No. 1 doubles, the fifth-ranked Tennessee team of John-Patrick Smith and Davey Sandgren defeated the fourth-ranked Bulldog duo of Nate Schnugg and Jamie Hunt 8-6.
The singles matches opened with the No. 5 matchup finishing first as Tennessee's Christian Hansen knocked out Bernstein in two sets, 6-3, 6-2, to make the score 2-0 Tennessee. No. 4 singles was the next to finish as Georgia's Josh Varela gave the Bulldogs their first point of the match, defeating Sandgren 6-4, 6-3.
Shortly thereafter, the top singles matchup gave the Volunteers a 3-1 lead with the eighth-ranked Smith taking a 6-4, 6-4 decision over 11th-ranked Schnugg. The decisive Tennessee point came at No. 6 singles, where Matt Brewer survived a three-set match with Christian Vitulli, a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory.
Hunt and Garrapiz were leading their matches before play was suspended. Both were up a set with Garrapiz leading 6-4, 2-3, while Hunt was ahead 6-3, 3-4.
Georgia drops to 22-3 on the season, suffering its first loss since a 4-3 decision to Ole Miss on March 6, a streak of 11 victories.
"We have to get back home and re-energize ourselves and recommit ourselves to what we are doing," Diaz said. "We've done a lot already this season, but it is imperative to have leadership and focus as we go through exams and manage our time and try to prepare the NCAAs."
The Bulldogs will have some time off from competition before they begin play in the NCAA Regionals May 8. The host sites and pairings will be officially announced Tuesday.
#4 Georgia (22-3), #6 Tennessee (21-5)
Doubles
1. #5 John-Patrick Smith/Davey Sandgren (UT) def. #4 Jamie Hunt/Nate Schnugg (UGA), 8-6
2. #42 Boris Conkic/Matteo Fago (UT) def. Drake Bernstein/Javier Garrapiz (UGA), 8-2
3. Matt Brewer/Bryan Swartz (UT) vs. Borja Malo/Christian Vitulli (UGA), 6-4, unfinished
Singles
1. #8 John-Patrick Smith (UT) def. #11 Nate Schnugg (UGA), 6-4, 6-4
2. #66 Javier Garrapiz (UGA) vs. #33 Boris Conkic (UT), 6-4, 2-3, unfinished
3. #78 Jamie Hunt (UGA) vs. Matteo Fago (UT), 6-3, 3-4, unfinished
4. Josh Varela (UGA) def. Davey Sandgren (UT), 6-4, 6-3
5. Christian Hansen (UT) def. Drake Bernstein (UGA), 6-3, 6-2
6. Matt Brewer (UT) def. Christian Vitulli (UGA), 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (5,4,3,6)
- Georgia Sports Communications
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