University of Washington
National Team Indoor Championships
Georgia Wins 2006 USTA/ITA National Team indoor Championship
February 20, 2006 | Men's Tennis
Feb. 20, 2006
SEATTLE - No. 2 seed Georgia defeated No. 4 Pepperdine, 4-0, to win the 2006 USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championship hosted by the University of Washington at the Nordstrom Tennis Center, Monday afternoon.
The National Team Indoor title is the first for Georgia, who advanced as far as the final on four previous occasions. The Bulldogs defeated No. 15 seed Colorado (4-0), No. 7 UCLA (4-3) and No. 3 Illinois (4-3) to earn its trip to today's championship match.
"We've been in the finals I don't know how many times before and not won it," Georgia head coach Manny Diaz said. "This is the only national event we've never won as a program so this is a great tribute to our squad. So this is a big deal for us."
Georgia clinched the doubles point on Matic Omerzel and Luis Flores' 9-8 (1) victory at the No. 3 spot. The Bulldogs then won three straight singles matches, getting victories from Collin Purcell at No. 6, second-ranked John Isner at No. 2 and 12th-ranked Strahinja Bobusic at No. 4.
"The score does not indicate one iota how tough, and gritty, and talented, and well-coached the Pepperdine team is, none at all," Diaz said. "I've been on the other side where we've been beat in the finals 4-0 and we were really, really in the match. This was in no way a typical 4-0 match."
Pepperdine was looking for its third National Team Indoor title, having won the tournament three times in its previous four appearances in the final. The Waves defeated No. 13 Florida State (4-0), No. 5 Mississippi (4-2) and No. 9 Duke (4-1) to reach today's championship match.
Host Washington finished the tournament with a 1-2 record, upsetting No. 6 seed Virginia in the first round before falling to No. 3 Illinois in the quarterfinals and to No. 7 UCLA in the consolation, Sunday. A four-time host of the National Team Indoor Championships, Washington will again host in 2008.
The USTA-ITA National Team Indoor Championship is collegiate tennis' premier indoor team tournament. It began in 1973 and each season offers a preview of the teams to beat at the season-ending NCAA Championships in May. Nine of the top 10 teams from the latest Fila Collegiate Tennis Rankings highlight this year's field.
Also today, Duke University senior Jonathan Stokke received the USTA Sportsmanship. Stokke, a native of Chapel Hill, N.C., was chosen for this annual award by the 16 participating coaches for displaying outstanding sportsmanship and exemplifying the spirit of college tennis during the course of the tournament and throughout his career.
2006 USTA/ITA NATIONAL TEAM INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Feb. 17-20 o Nordstrom Tennis Center/Seattle Tennis Club
Host: University of Washington
Order of finish:
Champion - Georgia
Runner-up - Pepperdine
T-3rd Place - Duke and Illinois
T-5th place - Mississippi and UCLA
T-7th place - Florida and Washington
T-9th place - Baylor and LSU
T-11th place - Arkansas and Florida State
T-13th place - Virginia and Penn
T-15th place - Colorado and South Carolina
Championship Final - No. 2 Georgia 4, No. 4 Pepperdine 0
Doubles
1. Doerner/Begemann (Pepperdine) def. Isner/Ruis (Georgia), 8-4
2. (6) Purcell/Bobusic (Georgia) def. (31) Rico/Lovrak (Pepperdine), 8-3
3. Omerzel/Flores (Georgia) def. Johnson/Altmann (Pepperdine), 9-8 (1)
Singles
1. Luis Flores (Georgia) vs. Scott Doerner (Pepperdine), DNF
2. (2) John Isner (Georgia) def. (100) Pedro Rico (Pepperdine), 6-4, 6-2
3. Antonio Ruiz (Georgia) vs. Ivor Lovrak (Pepperdine), DNF
4. (12) Strahinja Bobusic (Georgia) def. Richard Johnson (Pepperdine), 6-3, 7-5
5. (96) Matic Omerzel (Georgia) vs. Andre Begemann (Pepperdine), DNF
6. Colin Purcell (Georgia) def. Omar Altmann (Pepperdine), 6-2, 6-3
