May 20, 2008

Virginia Upset in NCAA Semifinals by Georgia 4-3

TULSA, Okla. - Top-seeded Virginia suffered its first loss of the season Monday night, falling to No. 4 Georgia 4-3 in the NCAA Semifinals at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center. The Cavaliers won the doubles point, but the Bulldogs rallied to win four singles matches to advance to the NCAA final for the third consecutive year.

The Cavaliers (32-1) took the doubles point for a 1-0 lead in the match. After Georgia (26-3) took an early edge with an 8-3 win at No. 3 doubles where Travis Helgeson and Christian Vitulli topped Houston Barrick (Brentwood, Tenn.) and Sanam Singh (Chandigarh, India), the Cavaliers took the other two matches. At No. 1, top-ranked Somdev Devvarman (Chennai, India) and Treat Huey (Alexandria, Va.) topped Jamie Hunt and Nate Schnugg 8-4. With the opening point on the line, Michael Shabaz (Fairfax, Va.) and Dominic Inglot (London, England) took a 7-4 lead at No. 2 doubles against Luis Flores and Javier Garrapiz. However, the Bulldog duo fought back to tie the match at 7-7. In the ensuing game, the Cavalier team broke Garrapiz's serve and Inglot held his in the next to secure the 9-7 win.

Georgia came out strong in singles, going up a break early in all six matches. In only one match was Virginia able to rally to take the first set, as Singh won his first set against Hunt at No. 4.