W&M Men’s Tennis Falls at Top-Ranked Georgia, 7-0

Tribe’s Cojanu and Mulligan Upset Nation’s No. 7 Doubles Team

02/26/06 10:43PM

ATHENS, GA - William and Mary’s men’s tennis team lost at No. 1 Georgia, 7-0, this afternoon at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

The loss drops the Tribe’s record to 7-6, while the Bulldogs stay perfect at 9-0.

W&M put up a tough fight in doubles, but Georgia took two of the three matches to win the doubles point. The Bulldogs’ 24th-ranked team of Luis Flores and Matic Omerzel defeated sophomore Matt Rubenstein (East Hampton, NY) and freshman Dominic Pagon (Kingston, Jamaica), 8-2, at No. 3. W&M bounced back on court two, where sophomore Alex Cojanu (Hallandale, FL) and freshman Billy Mulligan (Miami, FL) upset the nation’s seventh-ranked doubles team of Strahinja Bobusic and Colin Purcell, 8-3. The Bulldogs narrowly won the top match to take the point and a 1-0 lead, as the team of John Isner and Antonio Ruiz, ranked 32nd in the nation, defeated senior Stephen Ward (Douglaston, NY) and junior Colin O’Brien (Dublin, Ireland), 9-8 (4).

Georgia’s singles lineup, which included three players ranked among the top 72 in the nation, swept the six matches to secure the shutout victory. Ricardo Gonzalez defeated Pagon at No. 6 and No. 1 ranked Isner defeated O’Brien in the top match to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead, one point away from victory. Georgia clinched the victory with 37th-ranked Bobusic’s 6-4, 6-3 win over Cojanu at No. 2. Purcell followed with a win over freshman Alexander Zuck (Toms River, NJ) at No. 5 and Ruiz followed with a victory over Ward at No. 3. The last match on was at court four, where Rubenstein split sets with Omerzel, the nation’s 72nd ranked singles player, before falling 7-6, 4-6, 1-0 (10-6).

The Tribe will return to action on Sunday, March 6, with matches against Arizona and San Diego at Boise State.


#1 Georgia 7, William and Mary 0
Singles
1. #1 John Isner (UGA) d. Colin O’Brien; 6-3, 6-4
2. #37 Strahinja Bobusic (UGA) d. Alex Cojanu; 6-4, 6-3
3. Antonio Ruiz (UGA) d. Stephen Ward; 6-3, 6-4
4. #72 Matic Omerzel (UGA) d. Matt Rubenstein; 7-6, 4-6, 1-0 (6)
5. Colin Purcell (UGA) d. Alexander Zuck; 6-3, 6-3
6. Ricardo Gonzalez (UGA) d. Dominic Pagon; 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish: 6, 1, 2, 5, 3, 4

Doubles
1. #32 Isner/Ruiz (UGA) d. O’Brien/Ward; 9-8 (4)
2. Cojanu/Billy Mulligan (W&M) d. #7 Bobusic/Purcell; 8-3
3. #24 Luis Flores/Omerzel (UGA) d. Pagon/Rubenstein; 8-2
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1