April 17, 2010
ATLANTA – Guillermo Gomez and Eliot Potvin captured victories at No. 1 and 3 singles for Georgia Tech, but top-ranked Virginia won the doubles point and the first three singles matches to finish and defeated the 26th-ranked Yellow Jackets, 5-2, Saturday afternoon at the Bill Moore Tennis Center.
Virginia (31-1, 10-0 ACC), win its 56th consecutive match Saturday and remained in first place in the ACC, while Tech (15-6, 6-4 ACC), dropped its third straight match and its first at home this season.
Drew Courtney, Sanam Singh and Lee Singer cruised to straight-set victories to clinch the match early for Virginia, following a hard-fought doubles point in which the Cavaliers won two of the matches by 8-6 scores.
“Losing the doubles point was a little bit of a dagger for that match,” said head coach Kenny Thorne. “We did well to win No. 2 and couldn’t quite pull out the others. Winning four singles matches against the No. 1 team in the country was too tough to do today, but hopefully we’ll see them again next week at the ACC Championship.”
Michael Shabaz and Drew Courtney, ranked No. 6 in the nation, outlasted Kevin King and Juan Spir at No. 1, 8-6, and 56th-ranked Jarmere Jenkins and Lee Singer got by Guillermo Gomez and Dean O’Brien at No. 3 by the same score. Eliot Potvin and Ryan Smith won at No. 2 for the Jackets, 8-4 over 32nd-ranked Singh and Houston Barrick.
After that, the Cavaliers had little trouble in winning at No. 4, 2 and 6 singles to put away the match. Courtney defeated Miguel Muguruza, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 4 singles, Singh got by King, 7-5, 6-3 at No. 2, and Singer handled Spir, 6-4, 7-6, at No. 6.
Potvin downed Jenkins, the nation’s 45th-ranked player, at No. 3 by a 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 score. Gomez, ranked No. 8 nationally, lost the first set but came back to defeat 6th-ranked Shabaz, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, at No. 1.
“I just tried to stay solid and stay committed to what I was trying to do,” said Potvin, who improved to 21-10 overall in singles, 15-6 in the dual season. “He played well in the first set, but ultimately, I was able to stay more solid in the last two.”
The Yellow Jackets return to the court at 12 noon Sunday at the Bill Moore Tennis Center to take on No. 21 Virginia Tech (14-5, 7-3 ACC) in the final regular season match for both teams.
Tennis Match Results
Virginia vs Georgia Tech
Apr 17, 2010 at Atlanta, Ga.
#1 Virginia 5, #26 Georgia Tech 2
Singles competition
1. #8 Guillermo Gomez (GT) def. #6 Michael Shabaz (UVA) 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
2. #13 Sanam Singh (UVA) def. #90 Kevin King (GT) 7-5, 6-3
3. Eliot Potvin (GT) def. #45 Jarmere Jenkins (UVA) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
4. #59 Drew Courtney (UVA) def. Miguel Muguruza (GT) 6-3, 6-1
5. #103 Houston Barrick (UVA) def. Magin Ortiga (GT) 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (11-9)
6. #75 Lee Singer (UVA) def. Juan Spir (GT) 6-4, 7-6 (10-8)
Doubles competition
1. #6 Michael Shabaz/Drew Courtney (UVA) def. Kevin King/Juan Spir (GT) 8-6
2. Eliot Potvin/Ryan Smith (GT) def. #32 Sanam Singh/Houston Barrick (UVA) 8-4
3. #56 Jarmere Jenkins/Lee Singer (UVA) def. Guillermo Gomez/Dean O’Brien (GT) 8-6
Match Notes:
Virginia 31-1, 10-0 ACC; National ranking #1 Georgia Tech 15-6, 6-4 ACC; National ranking #26
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (4,2,6,3,5,1)
T-3:40
