The South Carolina State men’s tennis team played an impressive and tough First Round at the NCAA Men’s Tennis Championships Friday but came short against Two-Time Defending NCAA Champion Georgia Bulldogs. The match was played at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on the campus of the University of Georgia.

SCSU (14-8) began the day with a slow start, losing the doubles point. In the number one position, Jamie Hunt and Nate Schnugg (#5 ranked team in the nation) defeated Radek Pivonka and Gabriel, 8-2. The number two doubles team of Borja Malo and Christian defeated Ivan Milivojevic and Tomas Dobrotka, 8-4.

 “Our number one and two doubles played really well,” said SCSU coach Hardeep Judge. “It’s hard to catch up when you get behind to a team like Georgia (23-3) that has great speed.”

Despite losing the match, 4-0, the match was played tough and was a lot closer than the score showed at the end. Early during doubles play, the Bulldogs were caught off guard by the speed of UGA but eventually turned things around during the singles matches.

SC State’s one position player, Ivan Milivojevic, played an outstanding first set against the #12 ranked player Nate Schnugg, before falling  7-6, 7-2.  SCSU wouldn’t go away without a fight as  Javier Garrapiz (ranked 62nd) defeated Radek Pivonka, 6-0, 6-2 in the number two position and Christian Vitulli  defeated  David Grund, (6-3, 6-1) in the fifth position.

 “Ivan Milivojevic played great against one of the top players in the country in Schnugg, said Judge.” I can’t say enough about this team they showed a lot heart, Tomas Dobrotka and Gabriel Meanan played hard and showed that they deserved to be on the courts against the Defending National Champs.” Judge continued, “I give my team credit playing a team like that makes us better. I have been in the NCAA Tournament five times and this is the best team we ever played, and this is the best I ever seen my team play.”