©Colette Lewis 2007--
Athens, GA
I'd heard a lot about the University of Georgia tennis program--its traditions, its fans, its setting--but in my three years of covering college tennis, I'd never had an occasion to go Athens. After we arrived early this afternoon, with the Dan Magill Tennis Center still buzzing over North Carolina State's (17) 4-3 upset win over Texas (11), I began to realize just how much I'd missed.
From the parking garage attendant to the Will Call tent volunteers, from the aromatic, recently spread landscape bark to the abundant natural shade trees, the large crowds and the history on display, it was as if everything was conspiring to make the best possible first impression. And then there was the weather--no humidity and temperatures in the mid-70s--unexpectedly perfect, Southern Californian, almost, but without any hint of that thick smog.
As I settled into my spot in the lower level media room, taking my University of Georgia folding chair, I noticed that the photographs on the wall behind me were of John Roddick and Mike Sell. Within in the space of ten minutes, two people told me I needed to talk to Dan Magill, the Godfather of Georgia tennis, and I will do that, but there was just too much going on during the first day.
After watching Ohio State (2) take the doubles point from LSU (15) and take most of the first sets, I decided to check on the Illinois (11) - Ole Miss (7)match. Two hours later, I was still there. After GD Jones of Illinois, who was at times serving underhanded, had tied it at 3 with a victory over Jonas Berg at No. 5, it was up to Kevin Anderson and Erling Tveit at No. 1 to decide who would play again on Saturday. Tveit had won the first set 7-6 (5), but Anderson had won the second set tiebreak to even it. With the score tied at 3 in the final set, Anderson took control, breaking a tiring Tveit, holding, and breaking again to send his team to the quarterfinals.
The Notre Dame (5) - USC (12) match that followed on the back courts also was tied at three, when Gary Sacks and Ryan Keckley at No. 5 singles were the last two players standing. When I arrived, Sacks was down 4-2 in the third, but he won the next four games, closing out the match with one service winner after another, much to delight of his very vocal teammates and dozens of Trojan fans.
It was interesting to note all three teams who pulled off the 4-3 upsets lost the doubles point.
With several lengthy matches, including Virginia's (4) 4-1 win over Wake Forest (13), the main attraction for most of the 1,940 paying customers--Georgia (1) vs. Florida (17)-- was over an hour behind its scheduled start of 6 p.m. But a mere 45 minutes later Georgia had the doubles point, and an hour and a half after that it was 3-0 for the Bulldogs, with Nate Schnugg and Matic Omerzel losing all of five games between them. Two Georgia fans sitting in front of me were taking bets on who would get the fourth point, and they agreed on Isner, as he had taken the first set from Jesse Levine, but it turned out to be Travis Helgeson who earned the Bulldogs a date with UCLA (9) on Saturday evening. UCLA, playing in the calm and quiet back courts, while the masses clamored for their Bulldogs, dispatched of Oklahoma State (8) 4-0.
Virginia will meet USC on Saturday, Ohio State will try to beat Illinois for the third time this year, while North Carolina State will attempt to keep its Cinderella season going against Baylor (3), who defeated Alabama (17) 4-0 Thursday morning.
For complete match results, see georgiadogs.com.
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