Feb. 25, 2009
ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech men’s tennis team will host second-ranked Georgia Friday at 2:30 p.m. at the Bill Moore Tennis Center. The team will provide free pizza, and the first 200 fans will receive a “Beat Georgia” T-shirt.
“The excitement is always there when we play Georgia in any sport,” head coach Kenny Thorne said. “We have four in-state players on our team who have grown up with this rivalry, so they understand what is on the line. Our team fights extremely hard and will be ready to do so Friday.”
Tech (4-3) is coming off a tough 4-2 loss at No. 25 Auburn last Sunday. The Jackets are 3-0 at home so far on the season, with two of those wins in indoor play and one coming outdoors.
Sophomore Guillermo Gomez, the seventh-ranked singles player in the nation, will lead Tech at the No. 1 position against eleventh-ranked Nate Schnugg of Georgia. Gomez is 19-4 on the year and 3-1 in dual match play. The Alicante, Spain native did not receive a decision in his last match, but had a 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 1-0 lead against Auburn’s Alexey Tsyrenov before the match was suspended due to the Tigers already clinching the win.
Freshman Kevin King is 5-2 in dual match play on the season, and currently plays at No. 2 for the Jackets. King received just his second loss of the dual match season against Tim Puetz, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, in his last outing.
Gomez and teammate Ryan Smith have paired for doubles play the last two dual matches, going 1-1. King, along with sophomore Doug Kenny are 5-2 on the season, 4-1 at the No. 2 position.
Friday will be the 89th all-time meeting between the two schools, with Georgia leading the series 62-26.
“I encourage all our fans to come out and help support us,” Thorne added. “It should be a great match.”
