Sunday, 01/24/2010

Jackets Open Spring Season on a High Note; Return to Action on Sunday

ATLANTA - The Georgia Tech men's tennis team earned a hard-fought 5-2
win over UAB on Friday afternoon at the Bill Moore Tennis center in the
team's first match of the spring season.

With the win, the Jackets improved to 1-0 on the year, while UAB fell
to 0-1.

"I thought overall we played solid," said head coach Kenny Thorne. "I
think it was a good, strong match for us to start off with."

Tech captured the doubles point in a clean sweep, with the team of Juan
Spir and Miguel Muguruza clinching the point with an 8-4 win over UAB's
David Zimmerman and Dan Cornei.

In the number two spot, Eliot Potvin and Dean O'Brien made quick work
of UAB's Daniel Moser and Tyrone Ewels in an 8-1 win, while at number
one, Guillermo Gomez and Ryan Smith captured a tough 8-6 decision from
UAB's Alex Emery and Danny Manlow.

In singles, Gomez gave the Jackets a 2-0 lead with a 6-1, 6-1 straight
set win over Cornei at number one singles. It was at this point that the
Blazers mounted a comeback, as Manlow knocked off Spir at number two
7-5, 6-4 and Zimmerman won a three-set thriller (7-5, 4-6, 6-4), over
Tech's Dusan Miljevic at number three to not the match up a two points a
apiece.

At number five singles, O'Brien gave the Jackets the momentum back with
a 6-3. 6-2 victory over Tyrone Ewels to make it 3-2 in favor of Georgia
Tech. From here, the Jackets never looked back, as Muguruza clinched the
match with a straight set (6-3, 6-3) win of his own over Emery.

In the final match to be competed on the afternoon, Potivin recorded
the last win of the day for the Jackets with a tough 6-1, 6-7 (6-8), 6-2
win over Moser.

"We had a tough go of it at number four, five and six singles,"
continued Thorne. "I think Dean stopped their momentum a little bit and
was able to get the momentum back in our favor. It was nice that he came
out and took care of business. For Miguel to clinch it was a great thing
for him."

Georgia Tech returns to action on Sunday when it hosts a pair of
matches. First, the Yellow Jackets will take on USC Upstate at 9 a.m.
and will follow that up with a match against Georgia Southern at 2 p.m.

Tennis Match Results
UAB vs Georgia Tech
Jan 15, 2010 at Atlanta, Ga.

#47 Georgia Tech 5, UAB 2

Singles competition
1. Guillermo Gomez (GT) def. Dan Cornei (UAB) 6-1, 6-1
2. Danny Manlow (UAB) def. Juan Spir (GT) 7-5, 6-4
3. David Zimmerman (UAB) def. Dusan Miljevic (GT) 7-5, 4-6, 6-4
4. Eliot Potvin (GT) def. Daniel Moser (UAB) 6-1, 6-7 (6-8), 6-2
5. Dean O'Brien (GT) def. Tyrone Ewels (UAB) 6-3, 6-2
6. Miguel Muguruza (GT) def. Alex Emery (UAB) 6-3, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. Guillermo Gomez/Ryan Smith (GT) def. Alex Emery/Danny Manlow (UAB)
8-6
2. Eliot Potvin/Dean O'Brien (GT) def. Daniel Moser/Tyrone Ewels (UAB)
8-1
3. Juan Spir/Miguel Muguruza (GT) def. David Zimmerman/Dan Cornei (UAB)
8-4

Match Notes:
UAB 0-1
Georgia Tech 1-0; National ranking #47
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (1,2,3,5,6,4)
Match Played Indoors
T-4:10