AJC Blog on Dogs' Tennis Teams in Tulsa

[geechee]

Chip Towers | Wednesday, May 14, 2008, 02:46 PM

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Greetings from Tulsa, Oklahoma. What am I doing here, you ask? I’m here to cover the NCAA Tennis Championships. I’m interested in hearing what y’all think about that.

There’s no question the AJC needs to be here chronicling this event. After all three teams from the two state universities we cover the most are represented here. The defending national champion men’s team from Georgia is here. The Bulldogs are seeded fourth this season but, by all accounts, have a reasonable chance to repeat as national champs. The Georgia women, who have won two of these things, are here as well. They’re seeded No. 2 so, obviously, they could win another title. Then there is the Georgia Tech women. The Yellow Jackets are defending national champions — they won the program’s first title at UGA last year — and also won the national indoors earlier this season. So obviously they are very good, too.

That said, we know college tennis doesn’t necessarily generate great interest and/or readership. But this is an example of how we don’t always base our coverage decisions on what people want to read most. We also have to consider the athletic achievements of the teams we cover on a regular basis.

So here I am in Tulsa, a place I’d never been to and never expected to visit. Please tell me somebody will be reading the copy I’ll be producing out here over the next week (something on the Tech-Georgia tennis rivalry coming a little later today). And I’ll offer another shout-out to Tulsadawg, one of the blog’s regular visitors, to tell me once again where I should be going and what I should be doing during my down time (which won’t be much).

Meanwhile, I’ll understand if the blog morphs into a discussion of Georgia’s strength and weaknesses on defense this season or more debate on the Dogs’ baseball program compared to Tech’s. They certainly put on a good show at The Ted last night.

I’ll be checking in regularly. Until then, so long from Tulsa

Dogs, Jackets, AJC converge on Tulsa | UGA | ajc.com (http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/uga/entries/2008/05/14/dogs_jackets_aj.html)

[geechee]

Living on Tulsa time

By Chip Towers | Friday, May 16, 2008, 11:53 AM

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Greetings from Tulsa once again. I’m at the $15 million Michael D. Case Tennis Center watching the defending national champion Georgia men’s team put a hurting on Pepperdine in the round of 16.

The Bulldogs smoked them for the doubles point, winning 8-1 and 8-2 at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively. Then, after stumbling a little out of the gate in singles, regained their footing and are rolling now. At this minute they’ve won five first sets so it’s just a matter of time before they clinch it 4-0.

Now, on to the town of Tulsa. Thanks again for the many suggestions of where to go and what to do. I still haven’t been able to go out to dinner yet, per se, but I did get to sample a little of the nightlife last night. Make that late-night, nightlife because I didn’t get out of the tennis complex until 11:30 local time.

I met a couple of Georgia sports information guys at a place they chose down on Cherry Street, the “Gray Snail Saloon.” It was a great place if you’re in your 20s and I’m not. So after standing in front of the bar for 15 minutes with my ribs rattling to hip-hop holding up a twenty for the bartender to please get me a beer only to see him walk away to get straws to fill the dispenser then come back and serve the young lady behind me and to my right, I decided to leave. Never did get that beer.

I proceeded to a place called “Buckaneers” Tulsadog recommended as “a great dive” not too far away on Harvard Avenue. It definitely was a dive and was filled with some interesting characters. It was karaoke night, as it turns out, and a couple of ladies did their own version of Coyote Ugly on the bar. I finally got my beer but I didn’t stay long as the loud, bad singing and the smoke was getting the best of me. Yes, they smoke inside the bars here.

So, anyway, with any luck I’ll get done in time tonight to try one of your many dinner recommendations. So stay tuned. I know this is riveting stuff!

Dogs are about to clinch so I’ll check in later.

Living on Tulsa time | UGA | ajc.com (http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/uga/entries/2008/05/16/living_on_tulsa.html)

[geechee]

By Chip Towers

May 16, 2008 12:54 PM | Link to this

OK, Dogs ended up clinching 4-1. Travis Helgeson, ranked No. 4 in the nation, was upset by No. 37-ranked Bassam Beidas at No. 1 singles… . But the story of this match was Jamie Hunt’s comeback at No. 4. He hasn’t lost in singles in 18 matches but found himself down 5-0 before rallying to win seven straight games and win the set. Never mind that his match was suspended with him leading 5-4 in the second set, his was an unbelievable comeback that seemed to inspire the whole team… . Christian Vitulli, playing the court next to Hunt, clinched the match 6-3, 6-4.


By Chip Towers

May 16, 2008 1:11 PM | Link to this

Dogs get the winner of Ole Miss-North Carolina match, which is ongoing. Rebels surprisingly lost the doubles point but are up at three singles spots. Could go either way.

[geechee]

By CHIP TOWERS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/16/08

Tulsa - Jamie Hunt's match Friday didn't figure into the final score of Georgia's 4-1 win over Pepperdine in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tennis Tournament. But what he did at No. 4 singles had everything to do with the win.

Hunt trailed Pepperdine's Mahmoud Kamel 5-0 in the first set and his 18-match unbeaten streak appeared in jeopardy. But Hunt, a sophomore from San Antonio, put on a rally for the ages, roaring back to take seven games in a row and win the set 7-5.

It would have been fitting for Hunt to clinch the victory for the defending national champion Bulldogs. Ahead 5-3 and receiving serve, he had a chance to do just that. But Kamel managed to hold and Georgia's Christian Vitulli broke Pepperdine's Alex Moreno minutes later one court over to win 6-3, 6-4 and send Georgia (24-3) to its fourth consecutive NCAA quarterfinal.

"When Jamie went down 5-0 and started coming back, I heard the crowd start really getting into it and pumping him up," said Vitulli, who has won all three of his matches at No. 6 in straight sets in the NCAA tournament this year. "I definitely felt inspired and that just pushed me to play even better and keep going and stay positive."

Said coach Manuel Diaz: "The first thing I told him (Hunt) when he came off the court was what he did today was very, very important. We talk to our guys a lot about having a positive impact on your teammates no matter what the score is. Jamie's comeback inspired all the guys."

That Hunt was even capable of falling behind 0-5 was the biggest shock. He played No. 6 singles as a freshman last season and has played the majority of his singles matches at 2 and 3 this season. He even played one match at No. 1, winning against William & Mary. In all, he brought a 22-1 duals record into Friday's match.

Now settled in at No. 4 singles for the NCAAs, Hunt looked hopeless against Kamel, who was playing up a position in Pepperdine's lineup.

"It's not like I was playing bad," Hunt said. "It's just the guy was hitting winners left and right. All credit to him. He was just playing unbelievable."

With the win, Georgia will face Ole Miss in the Elite Eight. They will be meeting for the eighth time in the last four seasons. The Dogs are 6-1 in those matches, including a 4-2 win in Athens this season.

"We played Georgia and lost but the good thing is we don't play at their place this time," said Ole Miss (24-4) senior Matthias Wellerman. "It's really tough to play Georgia at Georgia. I don't know what their home record is but I know they haven't lost many matches there the last four years. It's good that we play them here on a neutral site."

Hunt's streak remains intact, Dogs top Pepperdine | ajc.com (http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/uga/stories/2008/05/16/ncaaga_0517.html)

[D^3]

C'mon Dawgs, bring home our 3rd and 4th national titles of the year!

[OleMissPike]

Did you guys know UGA hasn't lost a home tennis match since April 23, 2005? That's 47 straight home victories. Pretty impressive. Here's an article on the Ole Miss vs UGA matchup

NCAA tennis: Dogs draw Ole Miss in quarters | ajc.com (http://www.ajc.com/uga/content/sports/uga/stories/2008/05/17/ncaagam_0518.html)

Here's another article on national attendance leaders in D1 men. Ole Miss is just ahead of UGA in total and average attendance at 6th and 4th respectively.

Men's Tennis Finishes Regular Season Among Nation's Attendance Leaders - OleMissSports.com—Official Web Site of University of Mississippi Athletics (http://www.olemisssports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=13138&SPID=752&DB_OEM_ID=2600&ATCLID=1471568)

[SCRooster68]

Thanks for posting all of this. I am a big tennis fan and enjoy following it even if SC was down this year a bit. I will pull for any SEC team to win it all.

GA is always a beast but congrats to Ole Miss for having such a strong team also. Good Luck.

[Cianne]

Dawgs beat the Rebels 4-0.

[gatorunvrsty]

C'mon Dawgs, bring home our 3rd and 4th national titles of the year!

The 3rd is a distinct possibility. The women got upset on the first day by Arkansas.

Arkansas Defeats No. 2 Seed Georgia on the First Day of the NCAA Tennis Championships
No. 1 Northwestern, No. 3 Georgia Tech and No. 4 Stanford advance

May 15, 2008

Tulsa, Oklahoma - The Arkansas women's tennis team pulled of the biggest upset of the day as the first round of the NCAA Men's and Women's Tennis Championships got underway on Thursday at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center on the campus of The University of Tulsa.

The Lady Razorbacks, one of only two women's teams not seeded among the top-16 when the Sweet Sixteen began on Thursday, defeated No. 2 seed and SEC rival Georgia 4-2. Arkansas grabbed the doubles point and took a 6-2, 7-6 victory at the No. 1 position from the nation's No. 1 ranked Aurelija Miseviciate. Arkansas also won singles matches at No. 3 and 6.

The men look unstoppable, though. UGA has always had a strong men's team. If it makes you feel any better, though, the UF women beat defending champion GT yesterday.:thumpsup:

[geechee]

Men’s tennis, golf leads spring charge

By Chip Towers | Monday, May 19, 2008, 01:17 PM

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Hey guys and gals. Still in Tulsa. Wasn’t sure how long I’d be here but, thanks to the Georgia men’s tennis team, we’re going on a week.

The way we planned the trip was for me to leave if and when all three of the teams we cover were eliminated. Odds were pretty good I’d be around as those were the defending national champion Georgia Tech women, the defending national champion Georgia men and the No. 2-ranked Georgia women.

As it turns out, only the Georgia men are still alive and it will be one heck of a feat if they can remain that way after tonight. The Bulldogs draw the No. 1-ranked and undefeated Cavaliers of Virginia in the national semifinals. They’re scheduled to start at 6 p.m. EST if you want to follow it online by clicking here.

If Georgia wins, it’ll play in the championship match on Tuesday. If it loses, I’m outta here tomorrow and heading home to the fam, which I miss very much.

As for the travel log, last night I ate at El Guapo’s Mexican Cantina downtown on First Street. Food was OK but the magaritas were great.

Meanwhile, all of Georgia’s spring sports seem to be doing very well. Did you guys catch the men’s golf team’s 20-stroke win at the NCAA East Regional. Incredible. The baseball team lost its focus a little in the final series against Alabama but resumes play in the SEC tournament later this week. The softball team is in the NCAA Super Regionals but faces UCLA, which seems to knock them out every year. And the Dogs had Justin Gaymon, a junior from Stewartsville, N.J., clock the third-fastest time in the world to win the 400-meter hurdles.

I’d talk about football but haven’t been around it lately. I’ll make sure to get over and check in it when I get back to Athens. If it’s up to Manny Diaz, that’ll be Wednesday at the earliest.

C-ya.

Men's tennis, golf leads spring charge | UGA | ajc.com (http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/uga/entries/2008/05/19/mens_tennis_gol.html)

[geechee]

By Chip Towers

May 19, 2008 7:26 PM | Link to this

In case you didn’t see from the live-scoring link on the main sports page, Georgia lost the doubles point against Virginia, which is 27-0 when winning it this season. But the Dogs didn’t go down without a fight. In fact, they drew first blood by winning at the No. 3 doubles position . Georgia’s No. 1 team fought off five match points by Virginia’s team — which is ranked No. 1 in the nation — and the No. 2 team fought back from down 7-4 to win three straight games and tie the match at 7-7. But Javy Garrapiz was broken then Virginia’s Do Inglelot held serve for a Wahoos win… . The Dogs went to the break ticked off they didn’t win the doubles point but you can tell they’re supremely motivated and confident for singles. We’ll let you know what happens.


By Chip Towers

May 19, 2008 11:35 PM | Link to this

Hey guys. Sorry for the long absence. The press tent is about 100 or so yards from the stadium courts and I was wrapped up covering that unbelievable tennis match I just witnessed. It lasted nearly four hours and I was on deadline as soon as it ended… .

Obviously you guys know that Georgia upset No. 1-ranked Virginia 4-3 to advance to its third straight NCAA championship match. It was one of the most incredible efforts I’ve witnessed in this sport, which by the way is the most exciting way to watch tennis. It was heartbreaking to watch the Virginia kid Jamie Hunt beat succumb to severe cramps in the final and deciding set but Georgia deserves some credit for rolling in singles and pushing the Cavaliers to the point that three of their players had to use injury timeouts to deal with cramping issues. It was hot and humid here in Tulsa today, even as nightfall took over about halfway through singles. The Bulldogs, by the way, are now 14-0 all-time against Virginia and 3-0 in NCAA tournament matches… .

Georgia-Texas should be a doosie to watch as Manny Diaz and Longhorns coach Michael Center don’t like each other. Last I heard — and I wrote a story about this at last year’s tournament in Athens — they haven’t spoken ever since Travis Helgeson transferred to Georgia before last season. I’ll try to find that story in archives and post it here if tomorrow if I can remember. I need to look it up to refresh my memory. That’s all for now. It’s been a long hard night so I’ll see you guys tomorrow.

By Chip Towers

May 19, 2008 11:50 PM | Link to this

I’ve had a few folks ask whether the national championship match tomorrow night was going to be televised. Yes, it’s going to be televised live on ESPN-U at 7 p.m. … Now figuring out whether you pick it up or who does where is up to you guys.

[geechee]

UGA advances to NCAA tennis title match
Defending champion Dogs quiet No. 1 UVa, will face Texas today

By CHIP TOWERS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/20/08

Tulsa, Okla. — Virginia had a noticeably larger and considerably louder contingent here at the Case Tennis Center on Monday night. They even had a "Caped Crusader" fan in orange tights and face paint that, as it turns out, was the brother of a Cavaliers player and a London lawyer.

But the most noticeable aspect of that group was how silent it was toward the end of Virginia's NCAA Tournament semifinal against Georgia.

The Bulldogs outlasted the No. 1-ranked and previously undefeated Cavaliers 4-3 and muzzled them in the process.

With the victory, defending national champion Georgia (26-3), which came in as the No. 4 seed, will face No. 7 Texas (25-5) for a second consecutive outdoor title and first outside its home state. Virginia's season ends at 32-1.

"I knew the effort was going to be there tonight," said Georgia coach Manuel Diaz. "Even after we lost the doubles point, I thought it was going to be a special night."

Special but quiet.

Georgia sophomore Jamie Hunt clinched the match 6-0 in the third set of his No. 4 singles against Virginia's Sanam Singh. But the outcome was a foregone conclusion by the time it ended.

Singh, who had already taken two injury timeouts because of cramping, chose to finish the match even though he could barely move. His serves were delivered at grade-school speed, and Hunt simply had to deliver them back.

"I told my guys, 'we're not going to celebrate,' " Diaz said. "We were in that situation once in the early '90s when Eddie Jacques cramped up. It's tough to go down like that."

Said Hunt, who is unbeaten in his past 21 matches: "It takes away from it a little bit. I wanted him to be 100 percent. It would have been fun to battle it out 3-3 with him playing his best. But I'm just so proud of the guys for picking it up and putting me in that position."

The Texas-Georgia final could be a contentious one. The Bulldogs' No. 1 player, Travis Helgeson, played the No. 1 position for two seasons with the Longhorns before transferring to Georgia last season "to have a chance to win a national championship," he said then. Texas coach Michael Center accused Diaz of some unethical conduct in luring Helgeson to Athens.

"It's going to be exciting to play them," Helgeson said Monday. "I know a lot of guys on their team. But, in the end, we're both looking for the same thing."

Hunt, a native of San Antonio, also is jacked to draw the Longhorns. He said one of his best buddies is Kellen Damico, who plays No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles for UT.

"When we first got the draw he texted me and said, 'how about a Texas-Georgia final,' Hunt recalled. "I said 'sounds good to me.' "

Few teams have ever been better in doubles than Virginia is this year. The Cavaliers feature the nation's No. 1-ranked team in Somdev Devvarman and Treat Huey, and the team had won the doubles point 27 times coming into Monday's match. The Bulldogs also failed to beat them but served a message in losing.

The Dogs that drew first blood in the match by winning at the No. 3 position and they fought hard at Nos. 1 and 2. Hunt and Nate Schnugg at No. 1 fought off five match points before finally succumbing 8-4, and Luis Flores and Javier Garrapiz were poised to pull off a comeback for the ages before going down 9-7 at No. 3.

The most important thing for Georgia was it took an hour-and-a-half in the hot sun to settle the issue, and that would come into play in singles. The Cavaliers would need injury timeouts to address cramping issues at their Nos. 2, 5 and 4 positions.

UGA advances to NCAA tennis title match | ajc.com (http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/uga/stories/2008/05/19/ncaaga_0520.html)

[D^3]

GO DAWGS!!! Bring it home!

[geechee]

By Chip Towers

May 20, 2008 12:08 AM | Link to this

OK, here’s that story I wrote last year on Diaz and the Texas coach. Now I’m really signing off:

AJC Main Edition Sunday, 5/20/2007 Sports

CHIP TOWERS / Staff ctowers@ajc.com

Athens —- Imagine if star quarterback Vince Young decided to transfer from Texas to Georgia a few years ago, before leading the Longhorns to a national title. Now imagine fans’ delight when they found out he’d have been immediately eligible to play for the Bulldogs.

It could have happened, had Young played college tennis.

Check out what went down in the first round of the NCAA tennis championships here Thursday: The 11th-seeded Longhorns were toiling against unranked N.C. State on the upper courts before finally losing 4-3. A few hours later, Travis Helgeson clinched No. 1 Georgia’s 4-0 win over Florida. Helgeson played the previous two seasons for Texas, where he was twice named Big 12 player of the year. Instead, his presence in the Bulldogs’ lineup at No. 3 singles is a big reason they’re favored to win it all.

That irony is not lost upon Texas coach Michael Center, who is clearly bitter about Helgeson’s transfer.

“He was our Vince Young, ” Center said of Helgeson. “There are some things behind the scenes there. I’m not going into all the details, but it’s just not good for our sport.

“To be honest with you, it’s a real difficult thing for me to talk to the media about. It was a difficult situation; I don’t feel good about the way it transpired. There were some things going on I didn’t feel good about. But, in the end, it happened, so there’s nothing for me to sit here and dwell on.”

Center was pressed about details and whether he thought Georgia had tampered with Helgeson or broken any rules by luring him to Athens

“Well, I’m going to leave it at this: There was nothing done against the rules, but there are some ethics that are involved in our sport, ” Center said. “… For me, it crossed the line. They didn’t break any rules, but, ethically, we all have to make a decision in our life about how we’re going to handle things, and that’s up to each coach to make.”

It wasn’t the first time Center has lost a No. 1 player to the Bulldogs. Three years ago, Antonio Ruiz also made that move. Bulldogs coach Manuel Diaz adamantly denies Center’s accusations of wrongdoing

“The one statement I’ll make is there has not been anything illegal or unethical done in our program, ” Diaz said. “If I was Michael Center and I had two No. 1 players leave in the last few years, I’d probably feel the same way. But there have been a lot of players leave Texas over the years. Maybe he should be looking in the mirror rather than coming over here and attacking my integrity.”

Players take full advantage

In football and basketball, transfers within the same division must sit out a year before being eligible to compete at another school. But college tennis has a much more liberal policy. NCAA bylaw 14.5.5.2.10 allows athletes in sports other than football and basketball to transfer from one Division I institution to another and be immediately eligible to compete.

It’s a rule utilized a lot in tennis. Just look at the men’s and women’s fields gathered in Athens. Miami’s Audra Cohen, the nation’s No. 1 singles player, used to play for Northwestern. Georgia’s Monika Dancevik used to play for Miami. Zsuzsanna Fodor transferred from Mississippi State to Cal, Celia Durkin from Harvard to Stanford.

Seven of the top 37 women in the Division I rankings and three of the top 33 men have taken advantage of the rule.

For that reason and others, there is a movement afoot that tennis join other sports that require transfers to sit out a year. It’s expected to be discussed at a coaches meeting Tuesday in Athens.

“I think they should [have to sit out a year], ” said Lele Forood, coach of Stanford’s No. 1 women. “And I say that knowing it would’ve meant one of my players sitting last year. I just think it’s right. What happens is the original commitment doesn’t mean a lot if you can leave at any time without any problems. Kids will have to make better decisions initially.”

Other coaches, like Virginia’s Brian Boland, aren’t so sure.

“I mean, regular students can change schools if they’re not happy, ” he said.

Bitter end to a friendship

For the record, Georgia’s Diaz said he’d “very much be a proponent” of transfers having to sit out a year.

There’s little doubt where Center stands on the issue.

“It’s a problem in our sport, ” he said. “I think the coaches are a little bit tired of the transferring. I know I am. I think it leads to situations that are questionable. I just think it would relieve a lot of anxiety if they had to sit out a year.”

Meanwhile, a friendship has been ruined over Helgeson’s transfer.

“We don’t speak anymore, ” Center said of Diaz. “He was a friend of mine. I helped him get a couple of assistant coaches. Hell, my dad went to Georgia. … I was born in Georgia. I’ve always been very much a fan of Georgia. I’ve always been supportive of Georgia, and Manny and I were friends.

“But this pretty much severed our relationship.”

[geechee]

Barking picks up in tennis final

By Chip Towers | Tuesday, May 20, 2008, 06:24 PM

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

All right, I’m not really sure how much blogging may be going on during Georgia’s NCAA Championship match against Texas — which is set to start a little after 7 p.m. EST here in Tulsa but may get started late due to women’s match — but I figured I’d file a new entry so those of you that care to converse can as the match commences. I’ll try to update you with details if and when I can but I’ll be under a bear of a deadline tonight so don’t know what I’ll be able to do.

Anyway, the electricity has definitely turned up a notch. The legendary Dan Magill flew in today, as did Georgia AD Damon Evans and most of the senior staff. ESPN’s mighty broadcast trucks have pulled in and taken over the main walk into the stadium and pointed their giant satellite dish toward the stars and brought in giant banks of lights for the back courst. The women’s match is ongoing but a steady stream of patrons is starting to file in for the marquee men’s match this evening. You know the participants must have the hairs on the back of their necks standing up.

Like I said, blog away and I’ll check in when I can with some insights you might not be able to find otherwise.


Chip has mentioned coach Magill, coach Evans, freaking ESPN, everyone in the freakin world, except the most important person. The question is "was freakin Uga at the tennis match or not"?


By CHIP TOWERS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/20/08

Tulsa, Okla. — Fittingly it came down to Georgia's two senior captains, and then to Travis Helgeson.

Helgeson, who was scorned for transferring from Texas two years ago because he "wanted to compete for national championships," put the finishing touches on the Bulldogs' second in a row as he closed out Dimitar Kutrovsky 6-3 in the third set of their best-of-three singles match to give Georgia a 6-2 victory.

Luis Flores closed out his match at No. 3 singles 6-1 in the third set just minutes before Helgeson's come-from-behind win.

"I don't know that I'm going to realize what just happened until tomorrow," said Helgeson, clutching the championship trophy under his arm in the postmatch celebration on at the Case Tennis Center. "Last year was sweet. This year might have been even sweeter."

It definitely was different. Last season the Bulldogs steamrolled college tennis with nary a close match en route to a 32-0 record. But they lost All-Americans John Isner and Matic Omerzel from that squad and endured all manner of injuries and illness this season.

In the end, the outcome was the same as the Bulldogs (27-3) won their sixth NCAA championship. The other five all came in Athens. They trail only Stanford (15) in championships since the team format was established in 1977.

Georgia is also the first repeat champion since Stanford won four in a row from 1995-98.

The Bulldogs lost the doubles point but also got singles wins from sophomores Nate Schugg and Jamie Hunt. Flores (7-0), Schnugg (9-0) and Hunt (4-0) have never lost in their NCAA careers and are now 20-0 combined.

No. 7-seed Texas, which Georgia had beaten in the ITA National Indoor semifinals, finishes at 25-6.

UCLA won the women's national championship 4-0 over Pac-10 rival Callifornia. It was the first national title for the Lady Bruins (24-5), who are coached by Pete Sampras' sister, Stella Sampras Webster.

"He couldn't believe it," Webster said of her famous brother. "He was definitely in touch, the whole family was."

The season will continue for four Georgia players. Travis Helgeson, Nate Schnugg, Luis Flores and Jamie Hunt all were selected for the singles draw, which begins today, and Hunt and Schugg will compete in doubles, which starts Thursday.

Five Georgia Tech players (Amanda McDowell, Whitney McCray, Kristi Miller, Maya Johansson and Kirtsten Flower) and two Georgia players (Kelley and Yvette Hyndman) will continue in the women's individual tournament. McDowell was named to the NCAA's all-tournament team.

Like in their semifinal match against Virginia the Bulldogs lost a tightly contested doubles point.

It looked really bleak early as Texas' No. 1 doubles team of Ed Corrie and Kellen Damico shot out to a 4-0 lead on Hunt and Schnugg. But the Georgia team put together a furious and sustained rally and were actually poised their match with Hunt serving at 30-all and leading in games 8 to 7.

Yet they never got to finish. Helgeson and Christian Vitulli played poorly in losing 8-3 at the No. 3. Meanwhile, Flores and Garrapiz fought hard only to go down fast in the 14th game at No. 2 doubles, 8-6.

It was the sixth time this season the Bulldogs had lost the doubles point and they won three of the other five times. If Georgia was to repeat, it was going to come down to singles.

It went much as expected in individual play. Texas went ahead 2-0 with a quick win at No. 6, and the Bulldogs evened it right back up with wins by Schnugg, 6-4, 6-2 at No. 2, and Hunt, 6-1, 6-4 at 4.

Meanwhile, Helgeson, Flores and Garrapiz all went to third sets, with Garrapiz looking dominant in the second. It looked like it was going to come down to Georgia's two senior captains, as it well should.


Now that post, tells me all I need to know, hell yea! Uga was there MFs! Uga was there! That is one damn good Dog!

My work here is done for the day and a long day it has been, aloha means goodbye