Nov. 3, 2010
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ATLANTA – An opportunity to win an important national championship is on the line this weekend when Georgia Tech All-American Guillermo Gomez and the doubles tandem of Kevin King and Juan Spir compete in the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships in Flushing, N.Y.
The event, which includes a 32-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles draw, begins Thursday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center’s new Indoor Building and runs through Sunday. The field includes champions from the 24 Division I USTA/ITA Regional Championships, the USTA/ITA National Small College champion, the eight quarterfinalists of the ITA/D’Novo Men’s All-American Championships and ITA/Riviera All-American Championships, and at-large and wild card selections made by the ITA and USTA. Additionally, Columbia University, which is serving as the host school, will receive a wild card entry into each draw.
Gomez, a senior from Alicante, Spain, earned a wild card berth after winning the Southern Intercollegiate Championships singles title in Athens in September, reaching the round of 16 at the D’Novo/ITA All-American Championship in Tulsa, Okla., and the quarterfinals of the USTA/ITA Southeast Regional last week in Gainesville, Fla. he is the No. 6 seed in this event, facing Kiryl Harbatsiuk of Sacramento State in the first round at 11 a.m. Thursday.
He is 11-2 in singles this fall, including a 3-2 mark against ranked opponents, and has improved his career record to 96-32. Gomez would reach 100 career wins if he advances to the championship match of this event.
Meanwhile, King and Gomez have developed into one of the nation’s top doubles teams, qualifying for this event by winning the doubles title at the USTA/ITA Southeast Regional last week. King, a junior from Peachtree City, Ga., and Spir, a sophomore from Medellin, Colombia, defeated their Tech teammates, Eliot Potvin and Ryan Smith, in the finals. They began the fall ranked 43rd in the nation, and have won 13 of 16 matches this fall and reached the finals of the SIC in Athens.
They face Kentucky’s Brad Cox and Eric Quigley at 10:30 a.m. in Thursday’s first round.
“This is a great opportunity for all three guys up in New York,” said head coach Kenny Thorne. “Only 32 singles players and 16 doubles teams across the nation are able to compete for a national indoor singles and doubles title. I am proud that we have Kevin, Guillermo and Juan representing Georgia Tech in this prestigious event. They have been training hard so we will let them enjoy Manhattan and the U.S. Open site briefly and then go to work.”
The men’s field also feature reigning NCAA singles champion Bradley Klahn of Stanford and ITA/D’Novo All-American champion Alex Domijan of Virginia, as well as Drew Courtney and Michael Shabaz of Virginia, who won the 2010 NCAA doubles title.
YELLOW JACKETS CONCLUDE FALL AT BULLDOG SCRAMBLE
The rest of the Georgia Tech team will be in Athens, Ga., this weekend to compete in the Bulldog Scramble, a three-day event beginning Friday that is the final fall tournament on the Yellow Jackets’ schedule.
In the round-robin format, the Yellow Jackets will face players from Georgia, Georgia State, Clemson and North Carolina in singles and doubles sessions throughout the weekend. Head coach Kenny Thorne is sending seniors Eliot Potvin, Miguel Muguruza, Dean O’Brien and Ryan Smith, junior Dusan Miljevic and sophomore Magin Ortiga.
Among the group, Miljevic has enjoyed a very successful fall, reaching the semifinals of the USTA/ITA Southeast Regional and compiling a 12-4 singles record. He also has reached the quarterfinals of the SIC and advanced through the pre-qualifying draw at the D’Novo/ITA All-American Championships.
