Oct. 6, 2004
ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech men’s tennis team will host its annual tournament this Friday through Sunday at the Bill Moore Tennis Center. Admission is free and the tournament features players from more than a dozen colleges.
Georgia Tech faces some tough competition as over half the teams are ranked according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). The University of Georgia (6) and Athletic Coast Conference foe Virginia (10) are both ranked in the top-10. Tennessee (21), Clemson (25), tournament host Georgia Tech (32), Alabama (39) and the University of South Florida (50) are all ranked according to the ITA. Other teams competing this weekend include Furman, Georgia Southern, Georgia State and Nebraska. Two junior colleges will also take place in the tournament, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC) and Georgia Perimeter.
“The competition is always tough,” head coach Kenny Thorne stated. “You get some very good players. Whoever wins the tournament is going to have to really work hard to win. We have had some very competitive tournaments.”
Leading the way for the Yellow Jackets will be a pair of sophomores. Zachary Rath and Jose Luis Muguruza are set to lead the way for the Rambling Wreck. Rath is coming off of an excellent showing in the Icy Hot/ITA Men’s All-American Intercollegiate. The Montreal, Quebec, Canada native, advanced to the Round of 64 in the qualifying round. Muguruza, currently ranked 71 according to the ITA, advanced to the quarterfinals of the Southern Intercollegiate. The Wesley Chapel, Fla. native teamed up with Marko Rajevac to advance to the quarters of the Southern Intercollegiate doubles competition.
Also competing for the Jackets, are senior Noah Tyler, junior Rajevac, and freshmen Scott Blackmon, George Gvelesiani, and David North. Freshman Jordan Delass not compete due to a minor injury.
“We are playing all of our guys which is nice, except for Jordan. Everybody seems ready to play,” Thorne commented. ” With doubles, this is our chance to mix things up and try different teams. We can see how they play and see how they mesh and how they go. We are going to mix things up.”
The tournament will begin Friday morning, with singles action beginning at 8 a.m. Results will be updated at the conclusion of the day’s play. All results can be found at www.ramblinwreck.com.
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