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Georgia
No. 8 Men's Tennis Edged Out By No. 4 Georgia, 4-3
Friday, March 13, 2009 | Men's Tennis
The No. 8 University of Florida men's tennis team was handed its first conference loss of the season after the No. 4 Georgia Bulldogs defeated UF by a narrow 4-3 margin. Rain forced the match to be played on the Bulldogs' indoor courts.
Florida began the match with a 1-0 deficit after dropping the doubles point for the third time this season. The Gators did earn one doubles victory however, as No. 80 Carlos Cueto (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain) and Alex Lacroix (Paris, France) defeated Josh Varela and Christian Vitulli, 8-3.
In the same week that he was named SEC Player of the Week, No. 34 Lacroix evened the match at 1-1 after downing No. 60 Jamie Hunt in straight sets, 6-0, 7-6. The Frenchman has won six-straight matches, three of which were against ranked opponents.
After a Georgia win on court three, Joey Burkhardt (St. Augustine, Fla.) kept the Orange and Blue in the match once again. The freshman battled back after dropping the first set, 2-6. Burkhardt claimed the next two consecutive sets, 6-4, 6-2 to keep the match at 2-2. He is currently 21-10 in his freshman campaign.
After No. 7 Nate Shnugg and Drake Bernstein claimed victories over No. 19 Cueto and Johnny Hamui (Wesley Chapel, Fla.), respectively, the Bulldogs claimed the victory over the Gators. Sophomore Jeff Dadamo (Tampa, Fla.) continued to fight, defeating Christian Vitulli, 6-3, 6-2, after the match had been decided. Dadamo has also claimed six-straight wins for the Gators and is currently posting a 19-8.
The Gators continue their SEC road trip, as they take on No. 6 Tennessee in Knoxville on Sunday at 1 p.m. Check www.GatorZone.com for official results.
College Men's Tennis
Hopkins Indoor Center
Athens, Ga.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Final Score: Georgia 4, Florida 3
Doubles
No. 1 (12) Hunt/Schnugg (UGA) def. (18) Benneteau/Burkhardt (UF), 9-8
No. 2 Bernstein/Garrapiz (UGA) def. (61) Dadamo/Hamui (UF), 9-7
No. 3 (80) Cueto/Lacroix (UF) def. Varela/Vitulli (UGA), 8-3
Singles
No. 1 (7) Nate Schnugg (UGA) def. (19) Carlos Cueto (UF), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3
No. 2 (34) Alex Lacroix (UF) def. (60) Jamie Hunt (UGA), 6-0, 7-6
No. 3 (84) Javier Garrapiz (UGA) def. Antoine Benneteau (UF) , 3-6, 6-0, 6-1
No. 4 Joey Burkhardt (UF) def. Josh Varela (UGA), 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
No. 5 Drake Bernstein (UGA) def. Johnny Hamui (UF), 6-4, 6-2
No. 6 Jeff Dadamo (UF) def. Christian Vitulli (UGA), 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish: Doubles – 3, 2, 1 Singles – 2, 4, 3, 1, 5, 6
-UF-
