May 15, 2010
Lexington, Ky. – Kevin King and Juan Spir each won their singles matches, Spir’s the clincher, and teamed up to win their doubles match Saturday afternoon as 24th-ranked Georgia Tech defeated No. 47 Binghamton, 4-1, in the first round of the NCAA Lexington Regional at the Boone Tennis Complex.
Tech improved to 18-7 on the season and advanced to the second round, where it will face host 11th-ranked Kentucky (23-8) at 1 p.m. Sunday. Binghamton’s season ended with a 25-2 record.
King and Spir, the nation’s 70th-ranked doubles team, clinched the doubles point for the Yellow Jackets with an 8-3 win over Sven Vloedgraven and Gilbert Wong at No. 1, improving their record to 9-5 for the spring. Guillermo Gomez and Dean O’Brien got things going the Jackets’ way, easing past Bastian Bornkessel and Ruben Devos, 8-1, at No. 3.
“Binghampton played a tough match and had a very good season. We did what we wanted and needed to do to get into the secnd round,” said head coach Kenny Thorne. “We got the doubles point and won 3 straight set matches with Juan doing a great job in clinching the match. Dean and Guillermo were tough today getting us ahead early in doubles. I was proud of Miguel and Kevin for coming out strong and finishing strong in their singles matches. We will simply get our gameplan together for tomorrow and go out and battle again.”
Miguel Muguruza captured a straight-set win, 6-3, 6-4, over Wong at No. 4 singles to build the Jackets’ lead to 2-0 before the Bearcats’ picked up their only point at No. 5, with Arnay Juan getting past Magin Ortiga, 7-6, 6-0.
King lifted Tech to a 3-1 lead with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Moshe Levy at No. 2 singles, and Spir clinched the match for the Jackets at No. 6 with a 7-5, 6-3 triumph over Devos. King improved his spring record to 12-5, while Spir is now 11-8.
Live scoring and additional tournament details will be available at UKathletics.com.
Post-match Quotes
Georgia Tech Head Coach Kenny Thorne
On defeating a good Binghamton squad …
“They have had a great year only losing one match. They came in very confident and they played well today. Fortunately, we got on them well in doubles and got the doubles point right away. I think that we got on them in three matches in singles and this match was probably closer then it seems. It was good to win, but it was definitely a tough match for us.”
On how his guys handled the added pressure of the NCAA Tournament …
“All of these guys play their conference championships and then they take exams. Then they have to get back in the mindset of playing tennis. I think that we came out a little hyped at the beginning, but we settled down well and I was proud of how we competed.”
On playing Kentucky and Cleveland State in the second round …
“You are talking about two very good teams and anytime that you get to this point they all are good teams. Obviously, Kentucky is favored and if they make it through it will be a very tough match. But we play in the ACC and we haven’t had too many easy matches the whole season, so it will be another tough, tough match and that is what our guys are expecting.”
On anything that he will tell the guys heading into the second round match …
“Our goal is to move on when it comes to tournament time. If you had a tough match or a tough set out there today then it doesn’t matter, just look ahead. It is constantly looking ahead. We are going to look at some notes and go watch Kentucky and Cleveland State play and see what we need to do tomorrow. We will have the guys get a good night of sleep then prepare to get up for another match.”
Binghamton Coach Adam Cohen
On the team’s performance today …
“I thought that we really competed hard and we just didn’t get the kind of start that we wanted at Nos. 1 or 3 doubles, but we played a good match at No. 2 doubles. They were just a little bit better than us at No. 1. In singles, we got a little bit unfortunate and didn’t win at No. 6 and that would have really helped us. We won a close set at No. 5 singles and No. 3 and really we could have won four first sets and it would have really helped, but we didn’t. That hurt us.”
On a great season for the Bearcats …
“We really made a lot of strides in our program this season to not being ranked ever and being ranked as high as No. 43 this season. We came into the tournament at No. 47 and 25-1, so it was a dream season for us. We are only losing one guy, the No. 2 player (Moshe Levy), so we have everyone coming back. We look forward to having everyone back and having a great season next year and keep trying to move the program forward.”
NCAA Lexington Regional – First Round
Binghamton vs Georgia Tech
May 15, 2010 at Lexington, Ky.
#24 Georgia Tech 4, #47 Binghamton 1
Singles competition
1. #4 Guillermo Gomez (GT) vs. Sven Vloedgraven (BING) 4-6, 4-1, unfinished
2. #85 Kevin King (GT) def. Moshe Levy (BING) 7-5, 6-2
3. #112 Eliot Potvin (GT) vs. Alexandre Haggai (BING) 6-7 (13-15), unfinished
4. Miguel Muguruza (GT) def. Gilbert Wong (BING) 6-3, 6-4
5. Arnav Jain (BING) def. Magin Ortiga (GT) 7-6 (7-5), 6-0
6. Juan Spir (GT) def. Ruben Devos (BING) 7-5, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #70 Kevin King/Juan Spir (GT) def. Sven Vloedgraven/Gilbert Wong (BING) 8-3
2. Alexandre Haggai/Moshe Levy (BING) def. #52 Eliot Potvin/Ryan Smith (GT) 8-2
3. Guillermo Gomez/Dean O’Brien (GT) def. Bastian Bornkessel/Ruben Devos (BING) 8-1
Match Notes
Binghamton 25-2; National ranking #47
Georgia Tech 18-7; National ranking #24
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (4,5,2,6)
