Oct. 4, 2008
Sophomore Miguel Muguruza won a pair of matches to reach the singles semifinals of the “A” bracket on the second day of play at the Georgia Tech Fall Invitational. Muguruza also paired with teammate Ryan Smith for a victory in the doubles main draw semifinal round at the Bill Moore Tennis Saturday.
“I was fairly pleased with most of our performances today,” assistant coach Aljosa Piric said. “We have to keep working towards closing tight matches and utilizing all of our opportunities.”
Muguruza, a sophomore from Wesley Chapel, Fla., moved on in the morning’s round of 16 after Georgia’s Javier Garrapez withdrew due to an injury in the first set. In the quarterfinals, Muguruza battled to a tough three-set win over Furman’s Daniel Knauss, 7-6(8), 0-6, 6-4. Muguruza will take on the tournament’s top seed Jamie Hunt of Georgia in the semifinals on Sunday at 8 a.m.
“I was very pleased with the way Miguel fought today in singles play,” Piric added. “He was very focused and fired up, and kept up his intensity until the very end.”
In doubles play, Muguruza and Smith advanced to Sunday’s final with an 8-3 victory over Vanderbilt’s Adam Baker and Alex Zotov. The Due will take on Auburn’s Lukas Marsoun and Alexander Stamchev for the doubles title Sunday at 3 p.m.
“Miguel and Ryan played very well in doubles today,” Piric said. “I would like to see them pressure their opponents more and play hard until the very last point.”
Freshman Dusan Miljevic kept his tournament play alive in the consolation bracket, with a three-set victory over Armstrong Atlantic State’s Paul Bishop, 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-4. He will face Auburn’s Alexander Stamchev in the back-draw Quarterfinals on Sunday morning at 8 a.m.
Results for all matches will be posted on RamblinWreck.com following the conclusion of doubles and singles each day.
Men's Open Singles - A Draw (Round of 16)Bonet, Eudaldo Armstrong Atl, def. Smith, Ryan (5) GT, 6-4; 6-0Muguruza, Miguel GT, def. Garrapiz, Javier (3) UGA, 2-6 Ret (inj)Vitulli, Christian (4) UGA, def. Miljevic, Dusan GT, 0-6; 7-6(5); 6-1Men's Open Singles - A Draw (Quarterfinal Round)Muguruza, Miguel GT, def. Knauss, Daniel Furman, 7-6(8); 0-6; 6-4Men's Open Doubles - A Draw (Quarterfinal Round)Muguruza, Miguel / Smith, Ryan (2) def. Hill, Alex / Hunt, Jamie 8-3Men's Open Doubles - A Draw (Semifinal Round)Muguruza, Miguel / Smith, Ryan (2) def. Baker, Adam / Zotov, Alex 8-3
