May 12, 2017
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The 19th-ranked Georgia Tech men’s tennis team (18-7, 8-4 ACC) cruised to a 4-1 victory over No. 39 Minnesota in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday afternoon. The Jackets advanced to the second round to face the winner of No. 15 Florida/FGCU on Saturday in Gainesville, Fla. at 4 p.m.
DOUBLES ACTION: Tech and Minnesota split a pair of doubles matches, leaving the point to be decided on court two. The Yellow Jacket duo of No. 32 Christopher Eubanks/Carlos Benito rolled to a 6-3 victory over Felix Corwin/Matic Spec at the No. 1 spot, but the Golden Gophers evened the playing surface with a 6-2 decision on court three. Andrew Li/Cole Fiegel clinched the point, winning 6-4 on court two over Josip Krstanovic/Stefan Milicevic.
SINGLES PLAY: Leading the match 1-0, Tech needed just three singles wins to clinch a spot in the second round. Minnesota, however, quickly knotted the score at 1-1, taking a 6-1, 6-1 victory on court three from Milicevic before the Jackets sealed the next three matches off the courts. Carlos Divar pushed the Jackets back in the lead, grabbing a 6-0, 6-3 decision on court four over Krstanovic for a 2-1 Tech advantage.
No. 7 Eubanks put the Jackets on the verge of victory, pocketing a three-set win from the top seed. After taking the first set 6-3, Eubanks dropped the second set 6-3, but clinched the win with a 6-4 third set. Chris Yun clinched the match for Tech from the No. 6 spot, also winning a three-set battle. The freshman defeated Marino Alpeza, 6-1, 5-7, 6-1.
QUOTABLE: “Minnesota is a good team and it was definitely a close match. We did well at one and two doubles to get the doubles point and gain momentum. Carlos Divar kept us ahead by playing one of his more complete matches of the season. We had opportunities to close them out because we won first sets in four matches. We have to credit Minnesota for fighting back and what else would we expect at the NCAA Tournament — nothing is handed to you. We must earn everything. We will go back and rest and prepare for tomorrow’s match against either Florida or Florida Gulf Coast.” — Head coach Kenny Thorne
