ATHENS, Ga. (February 2, 2008) - The No. 49 ETSU men's tennis team fell in a hard-fought battle to the second-ranked and defending National Champion Georgia Bulldogs, 6-1 Saturday, at the Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Courts in Athens. ETSU falls to 4-2 on the year while the Bulldogs improve to 3-0.

The Bucs jumped out to an early 1-0 lead as they took the doubles point. Alex Ahlgren (Tyreso, Sweden) and Oscar Posada (Valencia, Venezuela) fell to Jamie Hunt and Nate Schnugg, 8-5 in the No. 1 position but  the No. 33 tandem of Enrique Olivares (Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela) and Sebastian Serrano (Cartagena, Colombia) dropped Drake Bernstein and Travis Helgeson, 8-4 in the second slot. ETSU then won the point as Lisandro Picardo (Mar del Plata, Argentina) and Daniel Isaza (Medellin, Colombia) rallied to drop Javier Garrapiz and Christian Vitulli, 9-7 in the third position.

ETSU's win in the doubles marks only the second time in the last 35 dual matches that Georgia has not won the doubles point.

Georgia then tied the match as Christian Vitulli defeated Oscar Posada in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1 in the fourth position and then gained a 2-1 advantage as Predrag Burmazovic (Belgrade, Serbia) fell to No. 17 Nate Schnugg, 6-3, 6-4, while No. 67 Jamie Hunt dropped Sebastian Serrano, 6-3, 7-5 to give the Bulldogs a 3-1 lead.

The match was decided when No. 4 Travis Helgeson defeated No. 49 Enrique Olivares in a hard-fought battle, 6-4, 7-6 (6), 6-1 in the No. 1 position. The Bulldogs swept the rest of the singles as Javier Garrapiz defeated Alex Ahlgren, 6-1, 6-2 and Drake Bernstein dropped Daniel Isaza, 1-6, 7-6 (2), 1-0.

"It took the wind out of our sails a little bit at the end. We were so close in the matches at the 1, 2 and 3. We played them tough and we made them earn it. It was surprising that we took the doubles and the guys proved to themselves that they can play anyone," said head coach Yaser Zaatini.

The Bucs will be back in action on February 10 as they travel to Murfreesboro, Tenn. to take on No. 59 MTSU. The match is set to begin at 2 p.m. Follow all ETSU men's tennis action at www.ETSUBucs.com.

No. 2 Georgia 6, No. 49 ETSU 1

Singles

No. 1- #4 Travis Helgeson (UGA) def. Enrique Olivares (ETSU) 6-4, 7-6(6), 6-1

No. 2- # 17 Nate Schnugg (UGA) def. Predrag Burmazovic (ETSU) 6-3, 6-3

No. 3- #67 Jamie Hunt (UGA) def. Sebastian Serrano (ETSU) 6-3, 7-5

No. 4- Christian Vitulli (UGA) def. Oscar Posada (ETSU) 6-2, 6-1

No. 5- Javier Garrapiz (UGA) def. Alex Ahlgren (ETSU) 6-1, 6-2

No. 6- Drake Bernstein (UGA) def. Daniel Isaza (ETSU) 1-6, 7-6(2), 1-0

Order of Finish - 4, 2, 3, 1*, 5, 6

Doubles

No. 1- Hunt/Schnugg (UGA) def. Ahlgren/Posada (ETSU) 8-5

No. 2- #33 Olivares/Serrano (ETSU) def. Bernstein/Helgeson (ETSU) 8-4

No. 3- Picardo/Isaza (ETSU) def. Garrapiz/Vitulli (ETSU) 9-7

Order of Finish - 1,2,3*

* - deciding match