Feb. 9, 2012
ATLANTA – The No. 29 Georgia Tech men’s tennis team won its second match in as many days, rolling past William & Mary, 7-0, Thursday afternoon at the Bill Moore Tennis Center in Atlanta.
The win improved the Yellow Jackets to 4-4 on the year, while the Tribe slipped to 6-5.
Senior Kevin King, the nation’s ninth-ranked singles player, survived a back-and-forth, three-set match versus the Tribe’s Jamie Whiteford, ranked 35th, to give Georgia Tech a 3-0 lead. King took the first set 6-3, fell in a tie-breaker in the second set 7-4 then imposed his will in the third set with a 6-1 win.
“I played against a very good player today,” said King, who improved to 12-2 with Spir in doubles and 21-4 in singles play. “I was up for most of the match and then he played a couple good games to get it back. And I was able to stick with it in the third set.”
King and junior Juan Spir, ranked second nationally as a doubles team, clinched the doubles point for Tech by edging Whiteford and Ben Guthrie, 9-7. That came after Juan Melian and Vikram Hundal dropped an 8-6 decision to John Banks and Jacob Braig and Dusan Miljevic and Eduardo Segura rolled over Anton Anderson and Will Juggins, 8-3.
“We came out in doubles and got a big win at three to get the doubles point,” said King. “Seeing all six of us play well in singles was important. That was a big step for the team. We’ve had a couple wins where we still lose a couple singles matches so it was nice to see everyone play hard.”
Spir extended Tech’s margin to 2-0 in singles play, posting an efficient 6-1, 6-2 victory over Anderson. King finished off Whiteford and then Melian came from a set down to beat Guthrie for the clincher, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
“It was a tough match in three sets,” said Melian. “There were a lot of ups and down in the match and I started a break down. I was playing a little too quick early, but then I got control of the match, lost it again and dropped the first set. I started to gain some confidence in the second set and Coach Thorne and Coach Pollock kept talking to me, telling me to stay calm and keep hitting safe targets. I won the second set and then stepped on him from the beginning in the third set.”
With the team victory already in hand, Miljevic made easy work of Adrian Vodislav, 6-3 and 6-4. Segura took care of Ben Hoogland in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2 and freshman Sebastian Lopez dispatched Banks, 6-1 and 6-3.
Melian improved to 11-5 with his singles victory, while Lopez picked up his second collegiate win after debuting Wednesday versus Georgia State.
Tech is next in action at Georgia, Tuesday, Feb. 14 in Athens at 4 p.m.
William & Mary vs Georgia TechFeb 09, 2012 at Atlanta, Ga.#29 Georgia Tech 7, William & Mary 0
Singles competition: 1. #9 Kevin King (GT) def. #34 Jamie Whiteford (WM) 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-1 2. Juan Spir (GT) def. Anton Andersson (WM) 6-1, 6-2 3. Juan Melian (GT) def. Ben Guthrie (WM) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 4. Dusan Miljevic (GT) def. Ben Hoogland (WM) 6-3, 6-4 5. Eduardo Segura (GT) def. John Banks (WM) 6-4, 6-2 6. Sebastian Lopez (GT) def. Robert Pietrucha (WM) 6-1, 6-3
Doubles competition: 1. #2 Kevin King/Juan Spir (GT) def. Jamie Whiteford/Ben Guthrie (WM) 9-7 2. John Banks/Jacob Braig (WM) def. Vikram Hundal/Juan Melian (GT) 8-6 3. Dusan Miljevic/Eduardo Segura (GT) def. Anton Andersson/Will Juggins (WM) 8-3
Match Notes: William & Mary 6-5 Georgia Tech 4-4; National ranking #29 Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (2,1,3,4,5,6) Match was played indoors
