Oct. 7, 2001
ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech men’s tennis team continued its march in the pre-qualifying stage of the ITA All-American Championship in Stone Mountain, Ga., winning all five matches on the third day of competition. The nine-day tournament includes three stages of competition and it being held at the Lincoln Tennis Center. The event is one of three major events in the collegiate tennis season.
The pre-qualifying stage of the tournament leads into a qualifying round with the winners of that round advancing into the main draw. The singles draw of pre-qualifying is now down to 16 players from 256, with Monday’s eight winners advancing to the qualifying draw on October 9-10. Singles players must win seven matches in six days to reach the main draw. The doubles pre-qualifying draw is now down to eight teams.
In singles action, Yellow Jacket sophomore Joao Menano continued his success in the pre-qualifying as he advanced to the final round with his third win in as many days, a three-set victory over Pepperdine’s Steve Racioppi. Menano dropped the first set before rallying to claim the match by a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 score.
The doubles draw proved to be an equal success for the Yellow Jackets, as both the team of Menano and Stephen Moros, along with the duo of West Nott and Scott Schnugg picked up a pair of wins on Sunday to advance to the qualifying rounds beginning on Tuesday. Menano and Moros opened the day with an 8-5 win over Ng and Warkentin of Ohio State and followed that with a win over Marin and Ross that proved to be the “lucky loser match” with both teams advances despite the outcome. Nott and Schnugg continued their success, as the began the day by downing Hanchen and Johnson of Birmingham-Southern by an 8-5 score, and following that with a victory over LaHaie and Magney of Memphis by an 8-6 count.
The ITA All-American Championships will continue with singles play on Monday and both singles and doubles qualifying on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the main draw beginning on Thursday. Full tournament results are available at www.itatennis.com.
Georgia Tech Singles Result
Joao Menano (GT) d. Steve Racioppi (Pepperdine), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
Georgia Tech Doubles Results
Menano/Moros (GT) d. Ng/Warkentin (Ohio State), 8-5
Menano/Moros (GT) d. Marin/Ross (Baylor)
Nott/Schnugg (GT) d. Hanchen/Johnson (Birmingham-Southern), 8-5
Nott/Schnugg (GT) d. LaHaie/Magney (Memphis), 8-6
