Nov. 11, 2015
THE FLATS – Six member of Georgia Tech’s men’s tennis team head to Athens to begin competition Friday at the Bulldog Scramble, while sophomore Christopher Eubanks begins play Thursday in the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships in Flushing, N.Y.
USTA/ITA National Indoor singles draw
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – The Bulldog Scramble is a round-robin singles and doubles event featuring players from five schools: Georgia, Georgia Tech, Harvard, Notre Dame and Oklahoma. All five teams made the NCAA 64-team field last spring. Play begins at 10 a.m. each morning and, depending on the weather, should be finished by 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 1:30 on Sunday. The National Indoor Intercollegiate features singles and doubles draws for both men and women that begin Thursday and conclude with championship matches on Sunday.
TEAM UPDATE – The Bulldog Scramble is the final team event on Georgia Tech’s fall schedule, and the Yellow Jackets will send senior Casey Kay, junior Carlos Benito, sophomores Michael Kay, Elijah Melendez and Daniel Yun and freshman Andrew Li. Sophomore Christopher Eubanks received an at-large berth last week to compete in the National Indoor Championships.
SINGLES UPDATE – Eubanks is No. 24 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association national singles rankings. The 6-foot-7 sophomore from Atlanta has an 8-3 record in singles this fall and a 1-2 mark against ranked opponents. Eubanks reached the semifinals of the Southern Intercollegiate Championships in Athens and the quarterfinals of the USTA/ITA Southeast Regional in Gainesville, Fla. His opening-round match is against Nicolas Alvarez of Duke, seeded seventh and ranked seventh nationally.
Melendez, from Suwanee, Ga., has matched Eubanks team-leading win total with an 8-5 record and won three qualifyhing-round matches, plus on consolation contest, the USTA Clay Court Invitational, while Michael Kay (Alpharetta, Ga.) is 5-3, and Li (Kong Kong) is 6-6 after reaching the semifinals of last week’s USTA Clay Court Invitational. Benito, from Madrid, Spain, has been limited to two matches this fall because of injuries. Yun, from Marietta, is 5-6.
HEAD COACH Kenny Thorne SAYS – “We are taking six guys to Athens this weekend for the last tournament of the fall season. We like the event because we get four singles and four doubles matches for each player. We still need to get our doubles teams sorted out. Carlos has been injured a majority of the fall and it will be good to get him back competing. We also need to see who will step up in singles this fall to work out our lineup. We have had different guys step up at different times but we are looking for consistency. The competition at this event looks very strong so it should give us a good indication on where we are and who is ready.
“Chris has a great opportunity in New York to continue his improvement. He has a tough match which you expect up there. He is playing Duke’s No. 1 player who probably had some of the best results of any freshman in Duke’s history. Chris has been training hard and has definitely improved from last fall as well as throughout this fall. The best in college tennis are there so no need to hold back.”
Bulldog Scramble
Nov. 13-15 | Athens, Ga. | Dan Magill Tennis Complex
Friday, Nov. 13
10 a.m. Doubles followed immediately by singles
2:30 p.m. Singles
Saturday, Nov. 14
10 a.m. Two rounds of doubles matches
1:30 p.m. Singles
Sunday, Nov. 15
10 a.m. Doubles followed immediately by singles
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.
