Jan. 18, 2009
ATLANTA – – The Georgia Tech men’s tennis team opened the 2009 season with a pair of home victories Sunday against USC Upstate (0-1) and Wofford (0-2) at the Bill Moore Tennis Center. The Yellow Jackets (2-0) defeated USC Upstate 5-2 in the morning, and Wofford 7-0 in the afternoon session.
“I give credit to both USC Upstate and Wofford as they are good teams,” head coach Kenny Thorne said. “They both compete very well and fought hard.”
Playing at the No. 1 position in both singles matches on the day, freshman Kevin King made most of his collegiate debut by handling USC Upstate’s No. 1 Edgar Rodriguez 6-3, 6-2, before taking down Wofford No. 1 Scott Collins 6-4, 6-2 in the afternoon. King also went 2-0 with partner Doug Kenny in doubles play on the day, winning 8-4 over Upstate and 8-0 over Wofford.
“I am proud of both our freshmen,” Thorne added. “With Kevin playing No. 1 and Dusan [Miljevic] No. 3 in their first collegiate competition, they handled themselves very well.
In the afternoon, the Jackets looked flawless in a doubles sweep over Wofford. Along with King and Kenny’s shutout, Austin Roebuck and Dusan Miljevic won 8-4, and Ryan Smith and Miguel Muguruza won 8-5 at the No. 1 position.
In singles play, freshman Dusan Miljevic made it 3-0 with a 7-6, 6-2 over the Terrier’s Stuart Robertson. Sophomore Eliot Potvin clinched the win for Tech at the No. 2 spot with a 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2 win over Danny Manlow. The Jackets preserved the shutout with a 6-2, 6-3 triumph by Junior Austin Roebuck over Wofford’s Michael Schecter at the No. 6 spot.
Tech gave up only one set all match against the Terriers.
The Jackets looked solid early on in the morning, winning all three doubles matches against the Spartans for a 1-0 lead. Tech clinched the match when Dusan Miljevic defeated Jack Roux 7-5, 6-3 at the No. 3 singles spot to make it 4-0.
The most exciting match of the day came between junior Austin Roebuck and Upstate’s Arnaldo Lovera. Roebuck fell down in the first set 6-7 (4), but fought back and won the second 7-6 (7). Playing the third-set as an eight-game pro set, the Athens, Ga. native pulled out a 12-10 edge for the victory.
Roebuck along with King and Potvin all went a perfect 2-0 in both singles and doubles play on the day.
“I felt Austin came through and won some hard-fought matches for us,” Thorne said. “The bottom line is that we still need to improve, but I am proud of our competitiveness.”
Results
GT 5, USC Upstate 2 Singles 1. Kevin King (GT) def. Edgar Rodriguez (UPST) 6-3, 6-2 2. Eliot Potvin (GT) def. Renzo Airaldi (UPST) 6-1, 6-3 3. Dusan Miljevic (GT) def. Jack Roux (UPST) 7-5, 6-3 4. Javier Tori (UPST) def. Ryan Smith (GT) 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 5. Austin Roebuck (GT) def. Arnaldo Lovera (UPST) 6-7 (4), 7-6 (7), 12-10 6. Leandro Osorio (UPST) def. Doug Kenny (GT) 6-4, 7-6 (3)
Doubles 1. Guillermo Gomez/Eliot Potvin (GT) def. Renzo Airaldi/Javier Tori (UPST) 9-7 2. Kevin King/Doug Kenny (GT) def. Edgar Rodriguez/Arnaldo Lovera (UPST) 8-4 3. Ryan Smith/Austin Roebuck (GT) def. Jack Roux/Leandro Osorio (UPST) 9-7
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (2,1,3,4,5,6)
GT 7, Wofford 0 Singles competition 1. Kevin King (GT) def. Scott Collins (WOF) 6-4, 6-2 2. Eliot Potvin (GT) def. Danny Manlow (WOF) 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2 3. Dusan Miljevic (GT) def. Stuart Robertson (WOF) 7-5, 6-2 4. Ryan Smith (GT) def. Paul Bartholomy (WOF) 7-5, 7-6 (4) 5. Miguel Muguruza (GT) def. Tinus Van Wyk (WOF) 6-4, 6-2 6. Austin Roebuck (GT) def. Michael Schecter (WOF) 6-1, 6-3
Doubles competition 1. Ryan Smith/Miguel Muguruza (GT) def. Danny Manlow/Stuart Robertson (WOF) 8-5 2. Kevin King/Doug Kenny (GT) def. Scott Collins/Paul Bartholomy (WOF) 8-0 3. Austin Roebuck/Dusan Miljevic (GT) def. Alan Donald/Tinus Van Wyk (WOF) 8-4
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (1,3,2,5,4,6)
