Oct. 25, 2009
Athens, Ga. – Georgia Tech’s Miguel Muguruza dropped a straight-set match, 6-3, 6-3, to Florida State’s Clint Bowles Sunday in the quarterfinals of the Wilson/ITA Southeast Regional Men’s Tennis Championships.
Muguruza, a junior from Wesley Chapel, Fla., was the last Yellow Jacket player in the draw. Bowles is the nation’s 33rd-ranked player.
His teammate, Guillermo Gomez, who also advanced to the quarterfinals Saturday in a lengthy three-set match with two tiebreakers, was forced to withdraw Sunday with an injury. But the junior from Alicante, Spain, due to his No. 5 national ranking and his advancement to the quarterfinals of the regional, has a spot the ITA National Indoor Championships, Nov. 5-8, in New Haven, Conn., for the second year in a row.
“We have had players win regionals before, but as a team, I believe this was the most successful regional tournament we’ve had since I have been at Georgia Tech,” said head coach Kenny Thorne. “It was a good team effort. We competed this weekend more like the team we want to be. We have plenty to improve upon, but we’re headed in the right direction.”
For the weekend, two singles players and one doubles team advanced to the quarterfinal rounds, while all but one player advanced to the main draw and one a first-round match. Eight players made the round of 32, and five made the top 16.
“The results that stick out for me,” said Thorne, “were Dusan Miljevic defeating Jamie Hunt (No. 37 in the nation) from Georgia and our freshman, Juan Spir, defeating Carlos Cueto, Florida’s top player and the 11th-ranked player in the nation. Having Guillermo advance to the national indoors for the second straight year is a good accomplishment.
“Our guys should hold their heads high and get their tails back out on the practice court to build on this.”
