March 27, 2010
ATLANTA – Guillermo Gomez and Kevin King won come-from-behind matches at the first two singles positions, bringing 29th-ranked Georgia Tech back from a 3-1 deficit to topple No. 26 Wake Forest, 4-3, Saturday afternoon in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The win was the third straight for Tech and improved the Yellow Jackets’ dual-match record to 11-3 overall, 2-1 in the ACC. The Demon Deacons fell to 7-5 overall, 1-1 in the ACC.
“I’m extremely proud of the way our guys fought today,” said head coach Kenny Thorne. “They believed all the way through the match and left everything on the court. We got a much-needed road win in the ACC, and we must follow it up with another one tomorrow.”
Gomez, the nation’s fifth-ranked player, clinched the match for the Jackets at the No. 1 singles position, defeating No. 56 Steven Forman in a three-set thriller, 7-6, 6-7, 7-5, going to tie breakers in the first two sets. The All-American from Alicante, Spain, lost two service breaks and trailed 4-0 in the third set before coming back to win.
It was King, however, who started the Jackets’ rally after they fell behind 3-1 in the match. The sophomore from Peachtree City, Ga., lost his first set of the spring, but came back to win 2-6, 6-0, 7-5 at No. 2. Freshman Juan Spir knotted the match at 3-3 when he defeated Zach Leslie, 6-2, 7-5 at No. 6, setting the stage for Gomez’ stirring win.
“Guillermo has won a lot of matches for us, but I don’t remember one being as exciting as this one,” Thorne said. “Coming from two breaks down in the third set shows that neither he nor the team will ever give up. Kevin had a great come-from-behind win against a player ranked No. 29 in the nation. He showed a ton of heart. Juan played well under pressure and came through.
Tech won the doubles point to open the match, getting wins from Dean O’Brien and Guillermo Gomez at No. 3 and Eliot Potvin and Ryan Smith at No. 2.
But The Deacons surged ahead by winning straight-set matches at No. 5, 4 and 3 singles. Freshman Magin Ortiga fell in straight sets to Danny Kreyman at No. 5, 6-3, 6-2, Miguel Muguruza lost to Iain Atkinson at No. 4, 6-2, 7-5, and Potvin dropped a 7-5, 7-6 decision to Jonathan Wolff at No. 3.
Tech concludes the weekend road trip by visiting No. 46 NC State at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Match Results
#29 Georgia Tech 4, #26 Wake Forest 3
Doubles
1. #16 Iain Atkinson/Steven Forman (WF) d. Kevin King/Juan Spir (GT) 9-7
2. Eliot Potvin/Ryan Smith (GT) d. Danny Kreyman/Zach Leslie (WF) 8-5
3. Dean O’Brien/Guillermo Gomez (GT) d. Tripper Carleton/Jon Wolff (WF) 8-3
Order of finish: 3, 2*, 1
Singles
1. #5 Guillermo Gomez (GT) d. #56 Steven Forman 7-6, 6-7, 7-5
2. Kevin King (GT) d. #29 Tripper Carleton (WF) 2-6, 6-0, 7-5
3. Jonathan Wolff (WF) d. Eliot Potvin (GT) 7-5, 7-6
4. #92 Iain Atkinson (WF) d. Miguel Muguruza (GT) 6-2, 7-5
5. Danny Kreyman (WF) d. Magin Ortiga (GT) 6-3, 6-2
6. Juan Spir (GT) d. Zach Leslie (WF) 6-2, 7-5
Order of finish: 5, 4, 3, 2, 6, 1*
