Feb. 14, 2016
THE FLATS – The Georgia Tech men’s tennis team earned a shutout victory over in-state foe Mercer, defeating the Bears 7-0 on Sunday night.
The Yellow Jackets got off to a fast start in doubles, with the team of Nathan Rakitt and Andrew Li earning a 6-1 victory over Mercer’s Sam Philp and Ruben Vanoppen. Elijah Melendez and Daniel Yun earned another 6-1 victory to claim the doubles point for Tech.
“We again played well on two and three doubles,” head coach Kenny Thorne said. “It’s good that Elijah and Daniel got in the lineup. They’ve been playing good doubles all throughout the fall and the spring. So it was good they came through and clinched the doubles point for us.”
In singles competition, the Jackets received four quick victories from Daniel Yun, Carlos Benito, Cole Fiegel and Nathan Rakitt in which Mercer athletes failed to win more than two games in any given set. Cole Fiegel’s victory was the clincher fort the second time in the last three days, winning 6-1, 6-2 over Anderson Scarpa.
Tech ended the night with a pair of closer contests, as Li won a match on a second-set tiebreak over Philp before Michael Kay defeated Arnav Mohanty with the set played as a tiebreaker.
“In the singles, Daniel came out and jumped on the guy, and it was impressive,” Thorne said. “He didn’t let the guy in the match. He got off the court pretty quick, which is good for him. Andrew had another good match – the guy played well against him and he just hung in there and got it done in straight sets. And Michael coming back – he needed it. I told him that sometimes you play well and sometimes you don’t play well, but he always fights hard. He fought his way through and got his win.
The win over Mercer was the third of the weekend in as many attempts for the Jackets, as they knocked off Auburn on Friday and Georgia State earlier on Sunday.
“It was a good weekend,” Thorne added. “We needed Friday’s win and today’s two matches going into Tennessee two weeks from now. We’ll get a little break and maybe take a couple of days off, but we’re going to get conditioning going pretty strong and get back on the court on Wednesday.”
Tech’s next match will be against Tennessee on Feb. 27 in Knoxville, Tenn.
Singles competition
1. Carlos Benito (GT) def. Nicolas Guillon (MER) 6-0, 6-1
2. Andrew Li (GT) def. Sam Philp (MER) 6-2, 7-6 (7-3)
3. Michael Kay (GT) def. Arnav Mohanty (MER) 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (3-7), 1-0 (10-3)
4. Cole Fiegel (GT) def. Anderson Scarpa (MER) 6-1, 6-2
5. Daniel Yun (GT) def. Fernando Guardia (MER) 6-0, 6-1
6. Nathan Rakitt (GT) def. Arsav Mohanty (MER) 6-2, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. #24 Michael Kay/Casey Kay (GT) vs. Arnav Mohanty/Arsav Mohanty (MER) 4-4, unfinished
2. Nathan Rakitt/Andrew Li (GT) def. Sam Philp/Ruben Vanoppen (MER) 6-1
3. Elijah Melendez/Daniel Yun (GT) def. Fernando Guardia/Nicolas Guillon (MER) 6-1
Match Notes:
Mercer 2-6
Georgia Tech 6-3; National ranking #44
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (5,1,4,6,2,3) T-2:08
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S TENNIS
Georgia Tech’s men’s tennis team is in its 18th year under head coach Kenny Thorne. The Yellow Jackets have played in the NCAA Championship 15 times. Connect with Georgia Tech Men’s Tennis on social media by liking their Facebook page, or following on Twitter (@GT_MTEN). For more information on Tech men’s tennis, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
