April 15, 2011
Blacksburg, Va. – Guillermo Gomez won a straight-set victory at first singles for the clinching point of the match, and teamed with Dean O’Brien to win the deciding doubles match as well, leading 15th-ranked Georgia Tech past No. 37 Virginia Tech, 4-3, in Atlantic Coast Conference tennis Friday.
The win was the seventh in the last eight matches for the Yellow Jackets (17-3 overall, 8-2 in the ACC), giving Tech a school-record eighth victory in the ACC and further solidifying its chances for a first-round bye in next week’s ACC Championship. The Yellow Jackets are 6-2 on the road this spring, 4-1 in conference matches. The Hokies dropped to 12-10 overall, 4-6 in the ACC.
“Getting another win on the road was important for us,” said Tech coach Kenny Thorne, whose team closes its regular-season schedule Saturday with a 2 p.m. match at No. 1-ranked Virginia. “Our guys are fighting hard every match. We played with good poise and good energy. Virginia Tech is a dangerous team, and I was proud that we got up and finished the match like we did. We look forward to our match against UVA tomorrow in Charlottesville.”
Kevin King and Miguel Muguruza, paired for the first time this year, captured the No. 3 doubles match, 8-5, to get the Yellow Jackets started. Gomez and O’Brien, who normally play No. 3 for Tech, won the No. 2 doubles match in a tiebreaker to clinch the doubles point for the Jackets.
“We did a good job in doubles today,” said Thorne. “Miguel and Kevin got off to a good start and got a win for us to gain control of the match. Ryan (Smith) and Eliot played well at No. 1 doubles for the win. Dean and Guillermo came back from a break down and pulled out a good match at No. 2 doubles.”
Eliot Potvin extended the Tech lead to 2-0 with a straight-set win over Pedro Graber at No. 3 singles. After Will Beck downed Magin Ortiga at No. 4 to slice the Jackets’ lead in half, O’Brien and Gomez notched the third and fourth Tech points with wins at No. 5 and 1. O’Brien won in straight sets over Lucas Oliveira, as did 15th-ranked Gomez over No. 53 Luka Somen at No. 1. Gomez needed a tiebreaker in the second set to capture his 12th straight win and improve to 29-6 this year.
“In singles, Eliot did a good job of getting us up quickly,” said Thorne. “He and Dean closed their matches out in straight sets. Also, Guillermo came back from a break down in both sets to clinch the team win.”
Each of the Yellow Jackets, except Gomez, played up one position Friday due to the absence of the injured Juan Spir, who typically mans the No. 2 singles spot and teams with King to play No. 1 doubles.
Tennis Match Results
Georgia Tech vs Virginia Tech
Apr 15, 2011 at Blacksburg, Va.
#15 Georgia Tech 4, #37 Virginia Tech 3
Singles competition
1. #15 Guillermo Gomez (GT) def. #53 Luka Somen (VT) 6-4, 7-6 (7-2)
2. Patrick Daciek (VT) def. Kevin King (GT) 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3)
3. Eliot Potvin (GT) def. Pedro Graber (VT) 6-2, 6-4
4. Will Beck (VT) def. Magin Ortiga (GT) 6-3, 6-4
5. Dean O’Brien (GT) def. Lucas Oliveira (VT) 6-4, 6-3
6. Corrado Tocci (VT) def. Dusan Miljevic (GT) 0-6, 6-4, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Eliot Potvin/Ryan Smith (GT) def. #42 Pedro Graber/Will Beck (VT) 9-8 (7-5)
2. Guillermo Gomez/Dean O’Brien (GT) def. Luka Somen/Lucas Oliveira (VT) 9-8 (7-3)
3. Kevin King/Miguel Muguruza (GT) def. Patrick Daciek/Trpimir Kujundzic (VT) 8-5
Match Notes:
Georgia Tech 17-3, 8-2 ACC; National ranking #15
Virginia Tech 12-10, 4-6 ACC; National ranking #37
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (3,4,5,1,6,2)
