Florida Gators
SEC Tournament Semifinals (Georgia)
Men's Tennis Upsets No. 3 Georgia To Advance to SEC Tournament Championship
Sunday, April 20, 2008 | Men's Tennis
The No. 12 University of Florida men's tennis team brought No. 3 Georgia's recent dominance in the Southeastern Conference Tournament to a close as the Gators came back from a 2-0 deficit to take a 4-2 semifinal victory Saturday afternoon in Fayetteville, Ark. Florida advanced to Sunday's championship match where the Gators will take on No. 6 Ole Miss at 2p.m. ET.
With the team scored 3-2 in Florida's favor both the No. 5 and No. 6 singles courts went into third-set tiebreakers. Florida newcomer Erik Corace provided the clincher as he outlasted Christian Vituli, 6-4, 6-7, 7-6 on court six.
“My heart rate is pretty high since I'm really excited to beat such a great Georgia team,” said UF head coach Andy Jackson. “Erik had been in this situation a couple of times (this season), and usually around the third or fourth time you learn how (to clinch a match). He deserved it. It was a shame one of them had to lose. I'm very proud of Erik. We're trying to raise our program to the level of Georgia's, and this is a big step for us.”
Florida, which improved to 15-6 on the year, is making its third championship appearance under Coach Jackson and fifth overall. Florida captured the title three times (1994, 2000, 2005) and has been a runner-up once (2003.) Georgia, which won the 2008 regular-season title and was the top-seed in the draw, slipped to 21-3 on the year
Georgia entered this year's tournament having won the title in 2006 and 2007. The Bulldogs had not lost a tournament match since a 4-2 loss to the Gators in the 2005 semifinals in Athens, Ga. Since that match, Georgia had defeated UF four-straight times, three in the regular season and one in the 2007 NCAA Tournament (Round of 16).
Florida's win was its third over a top 10 team in 2008 with the other two coming against then-No 9 Illinois on Feb. 24 in Gainesville (6-1) and the other coming over then-No. 5 Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss., on March 21 (5-2).
Sunday's championship meeting will give the Gators a chance to avenge losses to the Rebels in the SEC Tournament semifinals in both 2006 and 2007.
Florida dropped close doubles decisions on courts one and two to fall behind 1-0. UF's 41st-ranked Greg Ouellette and Jeff Dadamo nearly topped 32nd-ranked Jamie Hunt and Nate Schnugg before slipping, 9-8. At the time, UF's Tyler Hochwalt and Geoffrey Barton were leading on court three against Vitulli and Javier Garrapiz, 7-3.
Georgia built the lead to 2-0 when Hunt (No. 40) defeated Alex Lacroix (No. 67) on court three, 6-1, 6-0.
The Gators got on top with three straight-set wins of their own. The comeback began when Nestor Briceno (No. 120) took out Schnugg (No. 10) on court two (6-1, 6-1). Briceno, who picked up Florida's first singles win in its quarterfinal shutout of South Carolina, earned his 13th dual win of the year.
Hochwalt evened the match for the first time when he defeated Garrapiz (No. 102), 6-4, 6-2. The victory brought Hochwalt's team-leading record to 18-3 on the year.
Ouellette, who escalated to No. 2 nationally earlier this week, got the Gators to within one of the win when he defeated Travis Helgeson (No. 4) on the top court, 6-4, 6-4.The win was the second this season for Ouellette over the three-time All-American. Ouellette defeated Helgeson in Florida's regular-season loss to Georgia, 1-6, 6-1, 6-1.
SEC Men's Tennis Tournament
Semifinal Match
George M. Billingsley Tennis Center
Fayetteville, Ark.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Final Score: Florida 4, Georgia 2
Singles
1. #2 Greg Ouellette (UF) def. #4 Travis Helgeson (UGA), 6-4, 6-4
2. #120 Nestor Briceno (UF) def. #10 Nate Schnugg (UGA), 6-1, 6-1
3. #40 Jamie Hunt (UGA) def. #67 Alex Lacroix (UF), 6-1, 6-0
4. Tyler Hochwalt (UF) def. #102 Javier Garrapiz (UGA), 6-4, 6-2
5. Josh Varela (UGA) vs. Johnny Hamui (UF), 6-4, 4-6, 6-6 (susp.)
*6. Erik Corace (UF) def. Christian Vitulli (UGA), 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-6(3)
Doubles
1. #32 Jamie Hunt/Nate Schnugg (UGA) def. #41 Jeff Dadamo/Greg Ouellette (UF), 9-8(5)
2. Josh Varela/Travis Helgeson (UGA) def. Nestor Briceno/Alex Lacroix (UF), 8-6
3. Tyler Hochwalt/Geoffrey Barton (UF) vs. Javier Garrapiz/Christian Vitulli (UGA), 7-3 (susp.)
Order of Finish: Doubles (2, 1); Singles (3, 2, 4, 1, 6*)
* - clinching match
END OF REPORT
