Florida Gators
Georgia
Men?s Tennis Drops Match To Georgia, 4-3
Saturday, March 27, 2004 | Men's Tennis
The ninth-ranked University of Florida men's tennis team dropped a key Southeastern Conference Eastern Division match Friday evening to No. 12 Georgia, 4-3, in Athens, Ga. With the loss, the Gators fell to 10-5 overall and 3-2 in league play after entering the contest atop the SEC East Division standings. Georgia improved its record to 10-3 overall and 3-2 in the conference.
Georgia took the doubles point with wins on all three courts as Ricardo Gonzalez and Matic Ormerzel combined to defeat Florida's Janne Holmia and Martin Stiegwardt, 8-2, on court three. The Bulldog's fifth-ranked Bo Hodge and John Isner outlasted UF's Hamid Mirzadeh and Chris Brandi at the top of the order, 9-7, to clinch the 1-0 lead.
The doubles point provided the decisive margin as each team won three singles matches. Mirzadeh, ranked No. 17, picked up a big win over 15th-ranked Hodge on court one (4-6, 6-3, 6-4). The win marked the third over a ranked opponent for Mirzadeh in the last four outings.
Obradovic, who re-entered the ITA singles poll earlier this week in a tie for No. 100, improved to 12-1 in dual match play with his win over Matias (No. 99) on court three (6-3, 7-6).
Ryan Sherry also added to the Gator point column when Gonzalez retired from play on court six with Sherry in control of the third set 4-2. Sherry dropped the first set 7-6, however, he rallied back to take the second set, 6-3.
After missing Tuesday's match against top-ranked Illinois in Gainesville due to illness, Holmia returned to the singles lineup to play Isner on court two. The match came down to the third set as well where Isner slipped past
Holmia, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 to clinch the match for the Bulldogs. Holmia dropped the tiebreaker, 11-9, and he had match point.
The Gators look to bounce back on Sunday, March 28, as UF squares off against No. 21 Tennessee in Knoxville. The match is set to begin at 1 p.m. ET.
Doubles
1. (5) Hodge/Isner (UGA) def. Mirzadeh/Brandi (UF), 9-7
2. Ormaza/Bobusic (UGA) def. Johnson/Obradovic (UF), 8-4
3. Gonzalez/Omerzel (UGA) def. Holmia/Stiegwardt (UF), 8-2
Order of Finish - 3, 1, 2
Singles
1. (17) Hamid Mirzadeh (UF) d. (15) Bo Hodge (UGA) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
2. John Isner (UGA) d. (39) Janne Holmia (UF) 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (9)
3. (100) Vladimir Obradovic (UF) d. (99) Matias Ormaza (UGA) 6-3, 7-6
4. Matic Omerzel (UGA) d. Chris Brandi (UF) 7-6, 6-3
5. Strahinja Bobusic (UGA) d. Martin Stiegwardt (UF) 6-2, 6-4
6. Ryan Sherry (UF) d. Ricardo Gonzalez (UGA) 6-7, 6-3, 4-2 (ret)
