March 30, 2010
ATLANTA – Riding a four-match winning streak, Georgia Tech’s men’s tennis team looks forward to an important week, hosting three Atlantic Coast Conference matches against Clemson, Maryland and Boston College in a four-day stretch at the Bill Moore Tennis Center.
The 25th-ranked Yellow Jackets, 12-3 overall and 3-1 in the ACC following a pair of key road wins at Wake Forest and NC State last weekend, entertain Clemson Wednesday, Maryland Friday and Boston College Saturday. All three matches begin at 2:30 p.m. and are free of charge to the public. Parking is available in the main lot at Alexander Memorial Coliseum or on Fowler Street.
The Tigers, 13-4 overall and 1-3 in the ACC, are ranked No. 43 in the nation in the latest ITA poll. The Terrapins began the week 10-6 overall, 1-4 in the ACC, while the Eagles are 8-9 and 0-5.
Head coach Kenny Thorne’s team rebounded from a loss at No. 18 Florida State on Feb. 21 to defeat Miami, Wake Forest and NC State, all ranked in the nation’s top 50. The Jackets are in a group of three teams with one loss in conference, behind Virginia (5-0) and North Carolina (3-0).
“This week will end our tennis March madness. We’ve had some crazy matches and we have gotten better each match,” said Thorne. “Clemson was on quite a win streak early in the season, Maryland almost beat UNC the other day and BC played FSU very close so it will be good playing these teams at home.”
Tech has made some progress in its doubles alignment of late, winning the doubles point in four of the last five matches. Thorne has paired sophomore Kevin King with freshman Juan Spir, which has produced four wins in those five matches, and also paired juniors Eliot Potvin and Ryan Smith, who won both their matches over the weekend.
Even in the lone match where it lost the doubles point (35th-ranked Miami), the Yellow Jackets came back and won.
“We have gotten much stronger in doubles since getting everyone healthy and changing up the lineup a bit,” Thorne added. “We have also beaten some strong teams after losing the doubles point so the belief is there. Everyone is good in the ACC so the key is to stay consistent in our competitiveness.”
All-American Guillermo Gomez continues to lead the Jackets, posting a 21-5 overall singles record and an 8-3 mark at No. 1 in dual-match play. The junior from Alicante, Spain, ranked fourth in the nation, won the clinching match in a three-set thriller Saturday at Wake Forest.
King, from Peachtree City, Ga., remained undefeated with a pair of come-from-behind wins at No. 2 last weekend, and is 7-0 in singles, and 4-1 in doubles, since returning from an eight-month injury layoff. He has entered the ITA rankings at No. 62.
Potvin, from Hampden, Maine, has enjoyed a fine junior season, going 17-8 in singles and 11-4 in dual matches. Miguel Muguruza, a junior from Wesley Chapel, Fla., is 18-6 overall and 7-3 in dual matches. Freshman Juan Spir, aside from his doubles success with King, won both his matches at the No. 6 position last weekend and evened his singles mark at 9-9, 6-6 in dual matches. Fellow freshman Magin Ortiga dropped both his matches last weekend, but has been a fixture in the Tech singles lineup and is 14-11 overall, 8-5 in dual-match play.
