May 20, 2006
Notes:
No. 1 seed Georgia moves to 28-0 this season ... Bulldogs going for fifth NCAA title this week ... UGA in NCAA QF for second straight year and21st time overall ... Georgia looking to become just the fifth unbeaten NCAA champ since 1977 ... John Isner increased his win streak to 25 with a victory on court one tonight ... UGA is now 21-5 all-time in NCAA round of 16 matches ... Georgia has won the doubles point 25 times in 27 tries on the season (doubles not played in one dual match) ... Georgia has now shut out an opponent for the 16th time on the season. The 4-0 win also marks the third straight time this season that Georgia has posted three consecutive shutouts during the season ... After winning his 400th career match in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament with a 4-0 win over Furman, Head Coach Manuel Diaz improves his career record to 402-92 (.814) ... No. 17-32 seed Notre Dame fnishes season with 19-9 record ... Irish in round of 16 for first time since 2001 ... Irish were looking for first trip to final eight since `93 ... Notre Dame upset No. 16 seed Texas A&M in last Saturday's second round.
Quotes:
Georgia Head Coach Manuel Diaz
Opening Statement: "Our team played very well. We were told that Notre Dame couldn't play very well in doubles, but I was very, very impressed with their doubles. Our No. 3 team played lights out and we won a relatively quick match. But at No. 1 and No. 2, Notre Dame was really taking it to us. They were serving well, closing points and were quicker than we were in many instances. I thought they played with great intensity and really made it tough on us. We were fortunate to get a break at No. 1 and close the doubles point.
"In singles, it was just great play at No. 1. John Isner continues to lead this team in many ways. At No. 3, Tony Ruiz played a great match and was able to keep his opponent on the defense. Every time Tony wins it seems to give our team a lot of momentum."
Notre Dame Head Coach Bob Bayliss
Opening Statement: "I didn't realize Georgia had that much fire-power throughout the lineup. I thought we played well in spots, but they really jumped on us at No. 1, 3 and 4 singles and sealed the deal. My hats off to Georgia. They capitalized on whatever errors we gave them. We didn't do a good job at No. 1 and No. 3 of just hanging around. We just couldn't stay in points long enough and they had the ability to win all the big points."