Thursday, February 05, 2009

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Feb. 6, 2009) - After facing six ITA ranked teams in its first seven matches the ETSU men's tennis team's road doesn't get any easier this weekend, as the No. 37th-ranked Bucs travel to No. 3 Georgia, Friday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.

ETSU (1-2) comes into the contest splitting a pair of matches last weekend at the ITA National Indoor Team Championships in Charlottesville, Va. The Bucs raillied to shock No. 31 Wisconsin, 4-3 during the opening-round, before dropping to fifth-ranked host Virginia, Saturday night.

Individually, freshman Sander Gille (Kuringen, Belgium) and junior Daniel Isaza (Medellin, Columbia) are coming off their best match of the season. Both Gille and Isaza posted back-to-back singles wins helping the Bucs in the one-point victory over the Badgers.

Like last weekend senior Enrique Olivares (Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela) will return to a court in which he won a tournament during ETSU' fall season. The ninth-ranked captain won the prestigious Southern Intercollegiate Championships in Athens Sept. 22.

Georgia (3-0) also heads into the contest after hosting its share of the ITA National Indoor Team Championships last weekend. The defending back-to-back NCAA Champions are currently riding a three-match winning streak after defeating No. 61 Clemson, No. 51 South Carolina and No .36 Washington. In its three contests Georgia has outscored its opponents 16-2. Individually, 18th-ranked junior Nate Schnugg leads the way after being named the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player a season ago.  

Live stats will be available at the start of the contest at the link attached above. For more information on the ETSU men's tennis team please visit www.ETSUBUCS.com.