April 16, 2004
Zachary Rath dropped the deciding match to Damiisa Robinson at No. 5 singles as the Clemson Tigers held on to defeat the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, 4-3, in the quarterfinal match of the ACC Championship at the Millbrook Exchange Tennis Center in Raleigh, NC. With the loss, the Yellow Jackets fall to 15-7 while the Tigers improve to 22-10 and advance to take on North Carolina in the semifinals set for 10 a.m. Saturday.
The Yellow Jackets opened the match dropping the doubles point as the team of Young and Twente defeated Menano and Nott at No. 3 doubles, 8-6. Tech then evened the score at 1-1 as Muguruza and Pieters combined together to beat Boetsch and Robinson, 8-6. The final match at No. 1 doubles went down to the wire as the 32nd-ranked duo of Jenkins and Thompson outlasted #15 Schnugg and Rajevac, 9-8 (3).
After dropping the doubles point, Tech fought hard, posting wins at No. 2 singles as Muguruza defeated Goran Sterijovski in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3 and No. 3 singles as Pieters beat Jarmaine Jenkins, 6-3, 6-2 giving the Jackets a 2-1 lead. The Tigers then tied the match a 2-2 as Boetsch defeated Nott, 7-6 (5), 6-2 and then built a 3-2 lead when Menano fell to Young at No. 6 singles, 7-6 (5), 6-1. The Jackets tied the match again at 3-3 as #46 Scott Schnugg defeated Thompson in three sets, 6-1, 4-6, 7-5. In the deciding match of the afternoon, Rath couldn’t hold on to beat Robinson, losing 6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-2.
The Yellow Jackets will now await to see if they will receive an at-large bid to the 2004 Men’s NCAA Championship which begin May 14.
#45 Clemson 4 #26 Georgia Tech 3Doubles* No. 1 #32 Jenkins/Thompson (CU) def. #15 Scott Schnugg/Marko Rajevac 9-8 (3)No. 2 Jose Muguruza/Jason Pieters def. Boetsch/Robinson 8-6 No. 3 Young/Twente def. Joao Menano/West Nott 8-6
Singles No. 1 Scott Schnugg def. Nathan Thompson def Scott Schnugg 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 No. 2 Jose Muguruza def. Goran Sterijovski, 6-4, 6-3 No. 3 Jason Pieters def. Jarmaine Jenkins 6-3, 6-2 No. 4 John Boetsch def. West Nott 7-6 (5), 6-2 **No. 5 Damiisa Robinson def. Zachary Rath, 6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-2 No. 6 Ryan Young def/ Joao Menano, 7-6 (5), 6-1
* Clinched doubles point ** Clinched match
