Spring Break
Men's tennis season comes to disappointing end
MANIK K. GUPTA
Issue date: 6/4/09 Section: Sports
| |
|
This season, the Bulldogs were unable to create the same magic, losing to the Longhorns in the quarterfinal round of the 2009 NCAA Men's Tennis Championships.
The Bulldogs fell 4-2 May 17 after singles play was halted the prior afternoon due to a torrential downpour near College Station, Texas.
No. 4 Georgia (25-4) captured the doubles point after the All-American doubles team of juniors Jamie Hunt and Nate Schnugg topped Ed Corrie and Kellen Damico, the No. 27 team in the nation, 8-5, and the No. 2 doubles duo of Borja Malo and Christian Vitulli staved off five match point opportunities to seal the victory 9-8 (11-9 in the tiebreaker).
The delay into the next morning disrupted the momentum the Bulldogs established from the hotly-contested doubles portion of the match.
Behind strong support from local fans, the Longhorns were able to secure four of the six singles matches to move into the Final Four.
"We feel like we could have won that last match," head coach Manuel Diaz said. "But you have to take your hat off to [Texas]. They found the wind that second day. We didn't have a strong finish."
The men outperformed the expectations of many who believed Georgia would struggle after losing Luis Flores and Travis Helgeson from the 2008 Championship team.
"We accomplished a lot because we didn't lower the bar for ourselves," Diaz said. "We try to keep the expectations the same. We try to urge everyone to commit [themselves], and they did."
The men finished the season ranked sixth.
Women fall in NCAA semifinals
After winning its third consecutive SEC Tournament title and throttling opponents for most of the season, the Georgia women's tennis team had high expectations entering the 2009 NCAA Women's Team Tennis Championships, also in College Station.
In the program's 23rd NCAA Tournament appearance, the Bulldogs returned home without the spoils of a third national championship.
After battling through hard fought victories over SEC foes Florida and South Carolina, second-seeded Georgia (27-3) fell in the Final Four to eventual national champion, third-seeded Duke 5-2 May 18.
For the Bulldogs, it was their first national semifinal since 2002, with the loss snapping a 16-match unbeaten streak.
"I thought we had a great year," head coach Jeff Wallace said. "In the postseason, we won the SEC Tournament for the third year in a row. And then, to go in to the NCAA's and reach the Final Four. Honestly, we were a little disappointed because our goals were set higher than that. Reflecting back, I'm really proud of the team. I think they had an absolutely outstanding year."
Georgia finished the season ranked third.
Freshmen Chelsey Gullickson and Nadja Gilchrist led the Bulldogs with 22 dual match victories each while junior Naoko Ueshima and sophomore Cameron Ellis posted 21 victories apiece at the five and six-singles positions, respectively.
Wallace wins Coach of the Year
Wallace was rewarded for his team's strong season with his record-setting fourth ITA Coach of the Year honor.
Wallace, who owns 527 career coaching victories, led Georgia to its 10th NCAA Final Four in his 24 seasons with the Bulldogs.
Georgia has won two NCAA titles and three National Team Indoor Championships during his tenure.
"It's really just more of a reflection of what a great year the team had," Wallace said. "Without these great players and [assistant coaches] Frank [Polito] and Kelley [Hyndman] who helped me a lot this year, I would never get an award like that.
"Quite honestly they have to give it to one person, but in my perspective, it's an award we all kind of get. It's nice to have that, but I just appreciate all the hard work the players put in to make this happen."
Wallace won the same distinction in 1991, 1994 and 2000.
Be the first to comment on this story