Jan. 22, 2011
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech’s 23rd-ranked men’s tennis team will attempt to win its second straight match to open the 2011 season Sunday when it meets 56th-ranked South Carolina at the USC Indoor Fieldhouse in Columbia, S.C.
The Yellow Jackets, fresh off a 7-0 shutout of USC Upstate to open the season last Sunday, are looking for their second straight win over the Gamecocks (1-1). Tech captured a 6-1 victory over South Carolina last spring in Atlanta, while the Gamecocks won the teams’ last meeting in Columbia, 5-2.
“In order to be successful this year, we have to be tough on the road,” said head coach Kenny Thorne. “South Carolina is our first opportunity to win on the road and we are looking forward to it. Josh Goffi is in his first year as head coach at USC and will do a great job with their program.
“I know the guys are enthusiastic to compete and support each other throughout our tough season. We appreciate the family and friends that are going to be traveling on the road with us this year as well. Their support is an incredible help.”
Tech turned back the 60th-ranked Spartans last week without losing a set in singles and easily sweeping the doubles point. Kevin King lost just one game in two sets, while Guillermo Gomez, Eliot Potvin and Dusan Miljevic lost two each.
Gomez, Tech’s two-time All-American from Alicante, Spain, who is ranked No. 12 in the nation, improved to 12-4 in singles this year and continues his climb up the Tech career singles chart with 97 wins. He needs 15 to catch his head coach, Kenny Thorne, who won 112 matches from 1985-88.
Juan Spir, a sophomore from Medellin, Colombia, ranked No. 48 nationally, played No. 2 last week and improved to 12-4, while Potvin, a senior from Hampden, Maine, played No. 3 and improved to 5-7. Magin Ortiga, a sophomore from Cartagina, Colombia, won his match at No. 4 and improved to 8-5, while King played at No. 5 and improved to 5-4. Dusan Miljevic, a junior from Novi Sad, Serbia, who parlayed an outstanding fall into a national ranking of No. 93 entering the spring, played at No. 6 and is now 14-5 for the year.
On the doubles front, King and Spir scored an 8-2 victory in their first dual match of the year and are 16-4 playing at No. 1. They are ranked 8th nationally. Potvin and Ryan Smith won their match at No. 2 by an 8-2 score, and Gomez and senior Dean O’Brien won at No. 3 by an 8-0 count.
