2008 Woodie Awards
MEN WIN NCAA TENNIS TITLE
Staff and wire reports
Issue date: 5/21/08 Section: Sports
The Georgia men's tennis team won its second consecutive NCAA Championship Tuesday night, as Georgia's Travis Helgeson rallied to beat Texas' Dimitar Kurtovsk in three sets to secure the 4-2 win for the Bulldogs in Tulsa, Okla.
Georgia becomes the first team to repeat as NCAA champions since Stanford accomplished that feat in 1997-98.
Helgeson, who left the Longhorns two years ago for the Bulldogs in order to win a national championship, has now won two in a row.
"It's pretty sweet," Helgeson said. "Last year was unbelievable. This year we had to fight through a lot of battles. To come in seeded fourth or fifth and to win the tournament is something special. To win twice in a row is something special for us."
"Honestly, I was out of words after what these guys accomplished tonight," head coach Manny Diaz said. "I never felt so awkward trying to rationalize things. Probably today, I did less coaching than I've ever done, in many ways. I saw it in their eyes yesterday. They just competed like true champions. They were probably were a little bit more upset after losing the doubles points than they were yesterday, because they probably realized they didn't lay as well as they were capable of playing. The mindset these two captains have really just exemplified tonight exists in all the other guys and that's why we won the national championship. That's why we have worked just a little bit everyday and just come together to do this. It just baffles me."
The Bulldogs dropped the doubles point, but singles wins from Helgeson, Nate Schnugg, Luis Flores and Jamie Hunt gave Georgia the advantage it needed. Helgeson dropped the first set to Kurtovsk 6-4, but won the second and third sets 6-2 and 6-3 to secure the win, taking the final game at love.
"It was a terrific journey this year," Flores said. "This year tastes a little bit sweeter. It's great the way we competed."
Georgia finishes the season 27-3. Georgia has won its sixth NCAA Team Championship, and the fourth under Diaz. This is the first title Georgia has won outside of Athens, as the team won all five of its current championships in Athens on its home courts, most recently in 2007. The Bulldogs' other four titles came in 1985, '87, '99 and 2001.
Three Georgia players were named to the NCAA All-Tournament team. The All-Tournament selection at the No. 2 position was Schnugg, Flores was picked at the third position and Hunt received the honor in the fourth position. Schnugg was also named the 2008 NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
Georgia begins play in the individual singles and doubles championships at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in Tulsa. Fans can follow all of the action at www.tulsahurricane.com.
Texas vs Georgia
May 20, 2008 at Tulsa, Okla.
(Michael D. Case Tennis Center)
#5 Georgia 4, #7 Texas 2
Singles competition
1. #4 Travis Helgeson (UGA) def. #10 Dimitar Kurtovsky (TEXAS) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
2. #15 Nate Schnugg (UGA) def. #41 Kellen Damico (TEXAS) 6-4, 6-2
3. #59 Luis Flores (UGA) def. #47 Ed Corrie (TEXAS) 6-3, 1-6, 6-1
4. #38 Jamie Hunt (UGA) def. Luis Diaz Barriga (TEXAS) 6-1, 6-4
5. #121 Javier Garrapiz (UGA) vs. Milan Mihailovic (TEXAS) 4-6, 6-2, 2-1, unfinished
6. Miguel Reyes Varela (TEXAS) def. Christian Vitulli (UGA) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #17 Jamie Hunt/Nate Schnugg (UGA) vs. #9 Ed Corrie/Kellen Damico (TEXAS) 8-7, unfinished
2. #53 Luis Diaz Barriga/Miguel Reyes Varela (TEXAS) def. Luis Flores/Javier Garrapiz (UGA) 8-6
3. Dimitar Kurtovsky/Josh Zavala (TEXAS) def. Travis Helgeson/Christian Vitulli (UGA) 8-3
Match Notes:
Texas 25-6; National ranking #7
Georgia 27-3; National ranking #5
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (6,2,4,3,1)
Georgia wins sixth NCAA Championship title and second straight
- Georgia Sports Communications contributed to this report
Georgia becomes the first team to repeat as NCAA champions since Stanford accomplished that feat in 1997-98.
Helgeson, who left the Longhorns two years ago for the Bulldogs in order to win a national championship, has now won two in a row.
"It's pretty sweet," Helgeson said. "Last year was unbelievable. This year we had to fight through a lot of battles. To come in seeded fourth or fifth and to win the tournament is something special. To win twice in a row is something special for us."
"Honestly, I was out of words after what these guys accomplished tonight," head coach Manny Diaz said. "I never felt so awkward trying to rationalize things. Probably today, I did less coaching than I've ever done, in many ways. I saw it in their eyes yesterday. They just competed like true champions. They were probably were a little bit more upset after losing the doubles points than they were yesterday, because they probably realized they didn't lay as well as they were capable of playing. The mindset these two captains have really just exemplified tonight exists in all the other guys and that's why we won the national championship. That's why we have worked just a little bit everyday and just come together to do this. It just baffles me."
The Bulldogs dropped the doubles point, but singles wins from Helgeson, Nate Schnugg, Luis Flores and Jamie Hunt gave Georgia the advantage it needed. Helgeson dropped the first set to Kurtovsk 6-4, but won the second and third sets 6-2 and 6-3 to secure the win, taking the final game at love.
"It was a terrific journey this year," Flores said. "This year tastes a little bit sweeter. It's great the way we competed."
Georgia finishes the season 27-3. Georgia has won its sixth NCAA Team Championship, and the fourth under Diaz. This is the first title Georgia has won outside of Athens, as the team won all five of its current championships in Athens on its home courts, most recently in 2007. The Bulldogs' other four titles came in 1985, '87, '99 and 2001.
Three Georgia players were named to the NCAA All-Tournament team. The All-Tournament selection at the No. 2 position was Schnugg, Flores was picked at the third position and Hunt received the honor in the fourth position. Schnugg was also named the 2008 NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
Georgia begins play in the individual singles and doubles championships at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in Tulsa. Fans can follow all of the action at www.tulsahurricane.com.
Texas vs Georgia
May 20, 2008 at Tulsa, Okla.
(Michael D. Case Tennis Center)
#5 Georgia 4, #7 Texas 2
Singles competition
1. #4 Travis Helgeson (UGA) def. #10 Dimitar Kurtovsky (TEXAS) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
2. #15 Nate Schnugg (UGA) def. #41 Kellen Damico (TEXAS) 6-4, 6-2
3. #59 Luis Flores (UGA) def. #47 Ed Corrie (TEXAS) 6-3, 1-6, 6-1
4. #38 Jamie Hunt (UGA) def. Luis Diaz Barriga (TEXAS) 6-1, 6-4
5. #121 Javier Garrapiz (UGA) vs. Milan Mihailovic (TEXAS) 4-6, 6-2, 2-1, unfinished
6. Miguel Reyes Varela (TEXAS) def. Christian Vitulli (UGA) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #17 Jamie Hunt/Nate Schnugg (UGA) vs. #9 Ed Corrie/Kellen Damico (TEXAS) 8-7, unfinished
2. #53 Luis Diaz Barriga/Miguel Reyes Varela (TEXAS) def. Luis Flores/Javier Garrapiz (UGA) 8-6
3. Dimitar Kurtovsky/Josh Zavala (TEXAS) def. Travis Helgeson/Christian Vitulli (UGA) 8-3
Match Notes:
Texas 25-6; National ranking #7
Georgia 27-3; National ranking #5
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (6,2,4,3,1)
Georgia wins sixth NCAA Championship title and second straight
- Georgia Sports Communications contributed to this report
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Ellene
posted 5/21/08 @ 7:48 PM EST
We, the Bulldog nation, are so very proud of our tennis team !!!! Congratulations !!!Excellent skills !!!
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