THE FLATS – Georgia Tech’s men’s tennis team (7-4, 1-1 ACC) swept the Clemson Tigers (7-4, 1-1 ACC) in singles to earn the Yellow Jackets first conference victory of the 2019-20 campaign on Friday afternoon at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex.
The Tigers pounced early clinching the doubles point. Tech’s duo of sophomore Pablo Schelcher and freshman Andres Martin captured a win on court two, 6-3, to even up doubles after the Jackets suffered a loss on court three. Court one would see Clemson’s Gabriel Diaz Freire and Pierre-Louis Dodens battle against senior Carlos Divar and freshman Marcus McDaniel with the Tigers eventually closing out doubles with a 6-4 win.
“We did not handle conditions and make adjustments as well as Clemson did in two matches in doubles,” said head coach Kenny Thorne. “I was happy with all six courts in singles. It was great seeing our guys compete strong.”
The Jackets were unphased after going down 0-1 on the scoreboard. The momentum quickly swayed in Tech’s favor as Schelcher won a quick, 6-1, 6-1, match against Matteo Vialmin on court three. Schelcher’s win moved him up to a .500 (3-3) record on court three this season.
With the match evened up at 1-1, junior Brandon Freestone followed Schelcher up with a decisive, 6-2, 6-0, win to earn his fourth-straight singles matchup. McDaniel kept things rolling as he took flight two in a tiebreaker during the second set. McDaniel also gained his fourth-straight singles victory and moved to 7-2 in the last nine matchups.
At a 3-1 advantage senior Chris Yun came in clutch on flight four rebounding from his doubles loss on court three to cement Tech’s seventh win of the season. Things got tight during the second set, but Yun proved to be undaunted as he went on to win 6-4 to put him over .500 (7-6) on the season in singles play.
Martin, the No. 65 ranked singles player in the country, went unfinished on court one. Fellow freshman Keshav Chopra also went unfinished on court six after taking the first set in a tiebreaker 7-6 (6).
Tech now holds a 6-2 record on The Flats and will hit the road on Sunday to take on the No. 15 ranked Florida State Seminoles (9-2, 0-0 ACC) in Tallahassee with a start time set for 1 p.m. (EST).
RESULTS
Doubles competition
- Gabriel Diaz Freire/Pierre-Louis Dodens (MCU2019) def. Carlos Divar/Marcus McDaniel (GT) 6-4
- Pablo Schelcher/Andres Martin (GT) def. Mike Agee/Jacob Jahn (CU2019) 6-3
- Carlos Kelaidis/Teodor Giusca (MCU2019) def. Chris Yun/Brandon Freestone (GT) 6-2
Singles competition
- #65 Andres Martin (GT) vs. Gabriel Diaz Freire (CU) 2-6, 6-2, 2-2, unfinished
- Marcus McDaniel (GT) def. Teodor Giusca (CU) 6-1, 7-6 (7-5)
- Pablo Schelcher (GT) def. Matteo Vialmin (CU) 6-1, 6-1
- Chris Yun (GT) def. Carlos Kelaidis (CU) 6-2, 6-4
- Brandon Freestone (GT) def. Pierre-Louis Dodens (CU) 6-2, 6-0
- Keshav Chopra (GT) vs. Jacob Jahn (CU) 7-6 (8-6), 1-2, unfinished
Match Notes:
Clemson University 7-4, 1-1 ACC; National ranking #40
Georgia Tech 7-4, 1-1 ACC; National ranking #46
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (3,5,2,4)
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the A-T Fund’s Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes, and Athletics Initiative 2020, Georgia Tech athletics’ ongoing $125 million initiative to allow Tech to recruit the nation’s most elite student-athletes, build a better student-athlete once they arrive on The Flats and, ultimately, win! To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
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