Feb. 27, 2007
Courtesy of Georgia Athletics
ATHENS, Ga. - The No. 1-ranked Georgia men's tennis team (10-0) won its 10th straight match to remain undefeated on the season as the Bulldogs topped No. 23 Tulsa (7-3) by a 7-0 final score in Athens Tuesday. Georgia's 3rd-ranked senior John Isner (Greensboro, N.C.) defeated 2nd-ranked Arnau Brugues, 6-4, 6-1 at the top position, pacing the Bulldogs to their ninth shutout victory. Junior Travis Helgeson (Overland Park, Kan.), ranked No. 13 nationally, clinched the match with his 6-4, 6-3 win at the third position over Federico Soriano.
"I thought John came out ready to play and did a great job," said Georgia head coach Manuel Diaz. "He used his big serve and made Arnau work for every point. After John broke his serve in the second set, there really wasn't a whole lot of resistance after that, I think Arnau got a little frustrated and John broke him down. He really didn't make any unforced errors after that first set."
In the marquee match of the day, Isner and Brugues faced off in a national top three matchup at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. The first set saw the two players each held serve through the first nine games. With a 5-4 advantage, Isner earned the first break of the match to win the set, 6-4. With the first set in hand, Isner came out in the second and dominated, winning the first five games and breaking Brugues twice. Brugues then won his first game of the second set to make the score 5-1, but Isner's huge service game was too much as he closed out the set and the match, 6-4, 6-1.
Isner has now recorded 43 consecutive dual-match victories, a streak that dates back to April 8, 2005. He needs just 13 more singles wins to becomes the all-time winningest singles player in Georgia history. Earlier this year, Isner became the all-time winningest doubles player with his 112th victory. His career doubles record stands at 122-23 (.841) and his career singles mark is now 123-25 (.831). Isner's win avenges a 7-6, 6-4 loss to Brugues that came in October in the finals of the All-American Championship.
"I think I played a lot more consistently than the last time we played," said Isner. "His forehand was a little off and that is his big weapon. I think he may have struggled with the shadows on court 1. I just tried to take advantage of my opportunities. I wanted this rematch very badly, I have been thinking about it ever since I shook his hand after I lost to him in October. I just wanted to prepare and play the best I could and I think I did that today. He played a pretty loose game at 5-4 which allowed me to break him to win the set. Once I got that first service break in the second set, I knew I had him.
Georgia got the match started by winning the doubles point for the 10th time in as many tries, taking a 1-0 lead. First off the court was the No. 1-ranked team of Isner and junior Luis Flores (Xalapa, Mexico) who defeated Brugues and Federico Soriano, 8-1. Georgia held a 7-0 lead in that match before giving up a game. Next to finish was the 42nd-ranked UGA duo of freshmen Jamie Hunt (San Antonio, Texas) and Nate Schnugg (Medford, Ore.) as they beat Andy Connelly and Lucques Maasdorp, 8-3. Georgia completed the doubles sweep with a win in the second position as 5th-ranked senior Matic Omerzel (Kranj, Slovenia) and junior Travis Helgeson (Overland Park, Kan.) teamed up to take down Diego Camacho and Ross Cunningham, 8-6.
In singles play, Isner was first off the court with his win over Brugues, giving Georgia a 2-0 advantage. Next to finish was 78th-ranked Hunt as he gave UGA a 3-0 advantage, easing past Cunningham at the fifth position, 6-1, 6-2 to set Helgeson up for the clinch. It was Helgeson's fourth of the year.
With the match in hand, Flores gave Georgia the 5-0 lead as he won at the second position, 6-4, 6-3, defeating Will Gray. The score became 6-0 in the Bulldogs favor as Omerzel bounced back from a first-set loss to beat Ricardo Soriano, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Schnugg completed the shutout for the Bulldogs as he won at the sixth spot, defeating Camacho, 6-4, 6-3.
"I think the rest of our guys did a great job as well," said Diaz. "It was great to see Jamie (Hunt) come off the court with a quick win to give us even more momentum while everyone else pulled out their matches.
We are certainly not yet satisfied though," continued Diaz. "Our schedule definitely does not get any easier. With LSU coming up on Sunday we are going to have to be at our very best, they are a very good team. We also have Southern Cal at home in a couple of weeks and they are the only other team in the country aside from us who is undefeated. We know we can play better doubles especially. Our guys are not happy with the way we played today. We are going to have to be better in our upcoming matches."
Georgia is back in action on Friday, March 2 as the Bulldogs open up SEC play against Arkansas in Athens. The match is slated to begin at 2:30 p.m.
Tennis Match Results
Tulsa vs GEORGIA
Feb 27, 2007 at Athens, Ga.
#1 GEORGIA 7, #23 Tulsa 0
Singles competition
1. #3 John Isner (UGA) def. #2 Arnau Brugues (TULSA) 6-4, 6-1
2. #9 Luis Flores (UGA) def. Will Gray (TULSA) 6-4, 6-3
3. #13 Travis Helgeson (UGA) def. Federico Soriano (TULSA) 6-4, 6-3
4. #20 Matic Omerzel (UGA) def. Ricardo Soriano (TULSA) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
5. #78 Jamie Hunt (UGA) def. Ross Cunningham (TULSA) 6-1, 6-2
6. #57 Nate Schnugg (UGA) def. Diego Camacho (TULSA) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #1 John Isner/Luis Flores (UGA) def. #53 Arnau Brugues/Federico Soriano (TULSA) 8-1
2. #5 Travis Helgeson/Matic Omerzel (UGA) def. Diego Camacho/Ross Cunningham (TULSA) 8-6
3. #42 Jamie Hunt/Nate Schnugg (UGA) def. Andy Connelly/Lucques Maasdorp (TULSA) 8-3
Match Notes:
Tulsa 7-3; National ranking #23
GEORGIA 10-0; National ranking #1
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (1,5,3,2,4)
Coming into the today, Georgia has won the doubles point in every match.
Official: Walt Williams
Attendance: 147
