Men’s tennis awaits seeding
May 1, 2007 by PARKER MORGAN
Filed under Sports
A year’s worth of blood, sweat and tears already put forth on the court leaves only one logical step for Georgia’s men’s tennis team as it awaits its seeding in the NCAA tournament – chicken wings.
At 2:30 p.m. today, the No. 1 Bulldogs (26-0, 14-0 SEC) will gather at WOW Caf� & Wingery to watch the team bracket selection show on ESPNews.
MEN’S TENNIS TOP 25
Top 25 Men’s Tennis teams (teams in bold beaten by Georgia):
1. University of Georgia
2. Ohio State University
3. University of Virginia
4. Baylor University
5. University of Notre Dame
6. UNC
7 University of Mississippi
8. Oklahoma State University
9. UCLA
10. University of Illinois
11. University of Texas
12. Southern California
13. Wake Forest University
14. Duke University
15. Louisiana State University
16. Florida State University
17. University of Tulsa
18. University of Alabama
19. University of Florida
20. Pepperdine University
21. University of Michigan
22. Clemson University
23. Boise State University
24. Virginia Commonwealth
25. University of Tennessee
If all goes as expected, they should receive the tournament’s No. 1 seed after an unbeaten season of dominating performances against exceptional competition.
“It’s pretty nice to be rewarded for (our play),” senior tri-captain John Isner said. “We’ve earned it all year long. We’ve proved it all year long. We’ve beaten every team that’s faced us.”
With such recognition, Isner said, the team must be ready to meet the high expectations put upon it.
“We know it’s going to be a little added pressure on us with a big target on our back and a lot of teams are going to be gunning for us,” Isner said.
“It’s going to be very pivotal that we stay focused, and I think we’ll be able to.”
Head coach Manuel Diaz said the experience of this year’s team, playing a very difficult regular season schedule along with having been to the finals of the tournament last year, will greatly benefit it as it tries to capture the NCAA title.
“I think these guys have earned that seed, but that’s really not going to get you the prize. We’re going to have to come out there and work extremely hard on the court and come through under pressure in the big matches,” he said.
“Hopefully, what we’ve done throughout the year will help.”
