Feb. 24, 2008
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech swept three doubles matches and freshmen Eliot Potvin and Ryan Smith won three-set singles matches to lift the No. 38 Yellow Jackets over No. 60 South Carolina Sunday afternoon at the Bill Moore Tennis Center.
“We’ve had a lot of close matches in the past with South Carolina and we knew that it would be a tough match,” head coach Kenny Thorne said. “We played well in doubles and came out of the locker room with momentum entering singles. We maintained that momentum, but didn’t close out a couple of second sets, which can come back to haunt you sometimes.”
Potvin rallied in the third set of his singles match against Johannes Pulsfort for a 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 victory, helping Georgia Tech (7-1) clinch a win over the visiting Gamecocks. Smith, after splitting the first two sets with USC’s Jaime Cullar, won the third set 6-2.
Yellow Jacket freshman Guillermo Gomez made quick work of Yevgeny Supeko at No. 1 singles, 6-2, 6-1. David North gave the Yellow Jackets a 3-0 lead when he won at No. 2 singles over Diego Cubas, 7-5, 6-3.
“I thought the fresmhen (Potvin and Smith) really played with a lot of poise. Ryan (Smith) came back from losing the second set and was impressive in the third. Eliot (Potvin) beat a very good player. I was happy for Guillermo (Gomez), who is really beginning to play well.”
South Carolina’s Pedro Campos defeated Tech’s Scott Blackmon at No. 3 singles, 6-4, 6-4. The Gamecocks’ Ivan Cressoni won a hard-fought, three-set match over Tech’s Miguel Mugruza at No. 6 singles, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Georgia Tech swept the three doubles matches. Blackmon and Smith cruised at No. 1 doubles, 8-4, over Cubas and Supeko. At No. 2 doubles, Tech’s George Gvelesiani and David North whipped Pulsfort and Campos, 8-2. Muguruza and Potvin of Tech won at No. 3 singles, 8-6, against Cullar and Ivan Cressoni.
The Yellow Jackets return to action Tuesday against Georgia State in a 2:30 p.m. match on the Tech campus. South Carolina jumps into SEC play next week.
GEORGIA TECH 5, SOUTH CAROLINA 2
DOUBLES
Blackmon/Smith (GT) def. Cubas/Supeko (SC), 8-4
Gvelesiani/North (GT) def. Pulsfort/Campos (SC), 8-2
M. Muguruza/Potvin (GT) def. Cullar/Cressoni (SC), 8-6
SINGLES
Guillermo Gomez (GT) def. Yevgeny Supeko (SC), 6-2, 6-1
David North (GT) def. Diego Cubas (SC), 7-5, 6-3
Pedro Campos (SC) def. Scott Blackmon (GT), 6-4, 6-4
Eliot Potvin (GT) def. Johannes Pulsfort (SC), 7-5, 2-6, 7-5
Ryan Smith (GT) def. Jaime Cullar (SC), 6-3, 5-7, 6-2
Ivan Cresson (SC) def. Miguel Mugruza (GT), 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
