Oct. 2, 2008
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech’s men’s tennis team continues its fall schedule Friday when the Yellow Jackets host the annual Georgia Tech Fall Invitational at the Bill Moore Tennis Center on the Tech campus.
The three-day event features 64 players representing 14 schools divided into two 32-player singles draws and two doubles draws. Competition each day begins at 7:55 a.m. The first rounds in both singles draws and both doubles draws take place Friday, followed by two rounds of singles and one round of doubles Saturday. The semifinals and finals in both singles and doubles will take place Sunday.
ADVISORY — Due to Georgia Tech’s home football game Saturday, parking around the tennis center will be scarce. See directions to alternate parking below.
Schools joining Tech on the courts this weekend include Armstrong Atlantic State, Auburn, Clemson, Davidson, Furman, Georgia, Georgia State, Kennesaw State, Middle Tennessee State, UNC-Wilmington, Penn State, Southern Mississippi and Vanderbilt.
Five Tech players are entered in this weekend’s competition, including sophomore Ryan Smith of Marietta, Ga., seeded sixth in the A flight, sophomores Doug Kenny of Roswell, Ga., and Miguel Muguruza of Wesley Chapel, Fla., junior Austin Roebuck of Athens, Ga., and freshman Dusan Miljevic of Novi Sad, Serbia, all in the A flight.
“It’s turning out to be a strong tournament field here,” said Tech head coach Kenny Thorne. “It’s a good alternative to sending people to the All-American event. We have five of our guys playing here, and it’s strong up top. It’s a good opportunity to get some matches in, and it will be tough al the way through – no easy matches.”
Kenny, Muguruza, Roebuck and Smith each went 1-1 in singles competition at the Southern Intercollegiate Championship two weeks ago in Athens, while Miljevic (2-1) advanced to the quarterfinals.
Tech doubles pairings in the A draw include Muguruza and Smith together, and Kenny with Roebuck.
Tech’s other three players -Guillermo Gomez, Eliot Potvin and Kevin King, will not play in the event this weekend so that they can compete in the D’Novo All-American Championship in Tulsa, Okla. Gomez, a sophomore from Alicante, Spain, ranked 33rd in the nation, is in the main draw that begins next Thursday. He went 4-1 in Athens and advanced to the semifinals before losing.
King, a freshman from Peachtree City, Ga., is in the qualifying draw that begins Monday, and Potvin, a sophomore from Hampden, Maine, is in the pre-qualifying draw that begins Friday. King went 1-1 in Athens, while Potvin won two of three consolation matches after falling in the opening round of the main draw.
“We have to pick and choose which players play in the All-American because they miss too much school,” said Thorne. “Eliot didn’t get to go last year, so he’s entered in pre-qualifying. Guillermo is in the main draw, so he doesn’t miss too much school. The main draw will be very similar in the caliber of players in the NCAA Championship.”
Parking Advisory – Due to Saturday’s football game, parking around the Bill Moore Tennis Center will be permit only. Parking for the Georgia Tech Invitational will be available for pay in the North Deck lot on the Georgia Tech campus (going West on 10th St., turn left at Atlantic Drive and the deck is on the right) and in the Lanier parking lot on the corner of 10th St. and West Peachtree St. (From Tennis Center – Right on 10th St.; left on West Peachtree St.; left into lot.)
