Feb. 14, 2012
Athens, Ga. – Kevin King and Juan Spir improved to 8-0 on the season by winning their doubles match, but that was the only win Georgia Tech would get Tuesday as the 29th-ranked Yellow Jackets’ tennis team was shut out by No. 4 Georgia, 7-0, at the Dan Magill Tennis Center.
Avenging Tech’s win over the Bulldogs last year in Atlanta, Georgia improved to 6-0 this season, having lost just two points along the way, while Tech fell to 4-5 and awaits Wisconsin for a 12 noon match Sunday at the Bill Moore Tennis Center.
King and Spir, ranked second in the nation, made short work of the Bulldogs’ Garrett Brasseaux and Wil Spencer, knocking off the nation’s eighth-ranked doubles team, 8-2, at No. 1 doubles. But Georgia got wins at No. 2 and 3 to capture the doubles point, and the Jackets could not recover.
Sadio Doumbia and Hernus Pieters got past Juan Melian and Vikram Hundal, 8-4, and Nathan Pasha and Ignacio Taboada defeated Dusan Miljevic and Eduardo Segura, 8-3.
“UGA has a tough team and credit goes to them for playing well today,” said head coach Kenny Thorne. “We beat ourselves at different times throughout the match as well and that is where we need improvement. Kev and Juan got us off to a good start at No. 1 doubles, but we couldn’t fight back from a break down in either of the other two doubles matches.”
Georgia won five of the six singles matches in straight sets. In matches that finished within minutes of each other, Pieters, ranked 64th, earned a 6-4, 6-2 win over Miljevic at No. 4, KU Singh defeated Spir, 6-4, 7-5, at No. 2, and 26th-ranked Taboada beat Melian, 6-4, 6-4, for the clinching point.
In a match of top-10 players, Doumbia avenged a fall defeat to King by defeating the Tech senior, 6-3, 6-4, at No. 1 singles, while Campbell Johnson eased past Tech freshman Sebastian Lopez, 6-3, 6-1. Freshman Eduardo Segura was the only Tech player to take his opponent to a third set, but lost to 64th-ranked Pasha, 7-6, 4-6, 0-1.
“Eddie fought hard, competed well and lost a close one,” said Thorne. “We’ve got to get ready for Wisconsin this weekend and then the ACC will start.”
#4 Georgia 7, #29 Georgia Tech 0
Singles competition
1. #10 Sadio Doumbia (UGA) def. #9 Kevin King (GT) 6-3, 6-4
2. KU Singh (UGA) def. Juan Spir (GT) 6-4, 7-5
3. #26 Ignacio Taboada (UGA) def. Juan Melian (GT) 6-4, 6-4
4. #64 Hernus Pieters (UGA) def. Dusan Miljevic (GT) 6-4, 6-2
5. #64 Nathan Pasha (UGA) def. Eduardo Segura (GT) 6-7 (8-6), 6-4, 1-0 (12-10)
6. Campbell Johnson (UGA) def. Sebastian Lopez (GT) 6-3, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. #2 Kevin King/Juan Spir (GT) def. #8 Garrett Brasseaux/Wil Spencer (UGA) 8-2
2. Sadio Doumbia/Hernus Pieters (UGA) def. Juan Melian/Vikram Hundal (GT) 8-4
3. Nathan Pasha/Ignacio Taboada (UGA) def. Dusan Miljevic/Eduardo Segura (GT) 8-3
Match Notes:
Georgia Tech 4-5; National ranking #29
Georgia 6-0; National ranking #4
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (4,2,3,1,6,5)
Official: Walt Williams T-4:30 A-460
