South Carolina State faces an uphill battle in the NCAA Tennis Championship ? again ? when it takes on Georgia Friday in the first round at Athens, Ga on May 8-9, 2009.
It will be the fifth postseason appearance in six years for the Bulldog men and fifth in a row for the women. It will also be the fifth time each has faced a top four seed in the first round. The Georgia men, the two-time defending champions, are seeded fourth, and women are seeded second.
Still South Carolina State coach Hardeep Judge is optimistic that his teams can avoid being swept for the fifth time in the postseason, and that the experience they gain will be a building block for the future.
“Georgia is extremely strong,’’ Judge says. “It’s going to be a great test. They are where we want our program to be eventually. We’re looking forward to seeing how we stack up. They have long history. But at one time Georgia wasn’t strong in tennis. It takes time.’’
Judge points out that when he took over at South Carolina State nine years ago, the tennis program was near the bottom of the MEAC. Now it is the dominant force in the conference with the men having won eight MEAC titles and the women six, including the last five in a row.
Georgia is making its 31st NCAA appearance on the men’s side, and 22nd on the women’s side. The men have won six national championships; Georgia’s women won national titles in 1994 and 2000.
South Carolina State’s first round matches will be played at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex, Georgia’s home facility. Judge acknowledges that playing on Georgia’s home turf puts his team at an added disadvantage. However, he says it could have long-term benefits as South Carolina strives to move into the upper echelon of college tennis.
“We get to see how they work,’’ Judge says, “to see how they train, what we need to do personnel-wise and training-wise to get at that level. Hopefully can build confidence and see what need to do to play at that level.’
Judge predicts that with strong recruiting classes over the next two or three years, South Carolina State could be a top 50 program on the men’s and women’s sides.
Both teams are relatively young. Ivan Milivojevic, No. 1 singles and the Outstanding Performer at the MEAC Championship, and Dimitry Lomakin, No. 2 singles, are the only seniors on the men’s team. The women’s team is even younger. It has no seniors, five freshmen ? including 2009 MEAC Rookie of the Year Aniko Kiss and Sarai Torres, the Outstanding Performer at the MEAC Championship ? one sophomore and one junior.
“Hopefully we can build confidence and see what we need to do to play at that level,’’ Judge says. “If we can get a couple of more (recruits) and add depth, we’ll be there. I feel good about our future.’’
South Carolina State’s women will be short-handed against Georgia. Torres and Kiss both underwent surgery following the MEAC Championship, Torres for a torn meniscus, and Kiss for a foot injury. Torres is definitely out. Kiss is listed as day-to-day could compete.
Despite South Carolina Sate’s lack of success in past NCAA Championship, Judge says he has seen signs of progress.
The men lost to North Carolina 4-0 last year, but led each of the last three matches. They also led Duke in three matches in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Championship before being swept.
“A lot of matches were closer than the score,’’ he says.
Judge says the key to South Carolina State’s future success in the NCAA Championship is contingent on being seeded higher, thus not having to play top-ranked teams in the first round. The key, he says, to being seeded higher is playing ranked schools during the regular season.
“The way the ITA works, even if you lose to ranked schools you get more points than you do for beating schools that are not ranked,’’ he says.
Judge says he has been thwarted previously in his efforts to play ranked schools in close proximity to South Carolina State by his teams’ success. They will play teams at the bottom of the MEAC but not South Carolina State, not wanting to risk a possible defeat.
Judge hopes playing perennial power Georgia will be a stepping stone to upgrading South Carolina State’s schedule.
“If we can be respectful and give a little bit of challenge, maybe we can get them on our schedule,’’ he says, adding that if Georgia to come on South Carolina State’s schedule, it might pressure other schools in the area to follow suit.
In the meantime, Judge says he will look into upgrading South Carolina State’s schedule by adding schools the West and Midwest, even if it means increased travel.
“We’ll give it a shot and see if that can get us over first round,’’ he says. “We should be able to win a round or two. I think we’re headed in the right direction.’’