©Colette Lewis 2007—
Athens, GA
It was close. At one point in Georgia’s 4-1 win over Virginia on a hot and sunny afternoon in Athens, the Bulldogs had won three first sets in singles, and the Cavaliers had won three. But Georgia had taken the doubles point, by virtue of a tiebreak win at No. 1, so Virginia needed a valiant comeback. It didn’t materialize.
In the end, the real suspense was whether Virginia could sneak off with a point before Georgia closed the door. The Bulldog faithful were not worried about the ultimate outcome, but they badly wanted a fifth straight 4-0 win. Cavalier Somdev Devvarman didn’t cooperate, taking down John Isner 6-4, 6-4 at No. 1 just minutes before Nate Schnugg clinched at No. 5 with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Houston Barrick.
The Virginia team wasn’t claiming any moral victories.
“I’d rather take a loss and have the team win,” said Devvarman, the 2006 NCAA individual singles finalist. “It’s pretty disappointing, because we knew we could compete with them, and we came out and showed we could.”
In addition to Devvarman and Barrick taking opening sets, Ted Angelinos gave Virginia a lift by taking the first set from Jamie Hunt at No. 6. The 4, 5, and 6 spots have been Georgia’s sure points all season, and to lead in two of them should have given the Cavaliers a psychological boost. But Matic Omerzel quickly put Georgia up 2-0 with a 6-2, 6-3 decision over Marko Miklo, and Bulldogs had sets in hand at Nos. 2 and 3, and Schnugg and Hunt forced third sets. Travis Helgeson gave Georgia point number three with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Dominic Inglot at No. 3 giving the Bulldog supporters hope that Schnugg could finish before Devvarman. That didn’t happen, and the subdued celebration, at least when contrasted with the enthusiasm shown by the Illinois team after their victory, showed clearly the different expectations of the two teams.
Matt Knoll’s comment that Georgia could not be beaten was revisited with both Brian Boland of Virginia and Manny Diaz of Georgia, and they were vehement in their disagreement with the Baylor head coach.
“Illinois is playing great,” said Boland, “and I don’t think they are going to lay down, that’s for sure. Georgia’s a great team, sure they’re the better team, but you gotta go play.”
“I love Matt Knoll, he’s a great friend,” Diaz said, “and I can empathize with the disappointment of his losing today’s match, but I don’t think that means anything. Illinois has beaten the No. 2 seed, they’ve beaten the No. 3 seed in the tournament and they’ve beaten the No. 7 seed in the tournament. I think they deserve a little credit.”
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