COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS – Fourth-ranked Georgia advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tennis Championships Thursday with a thrilling 4-3 comeback over 13th-ranked Illinois.

Up next, the Bulldogs (25-3) will face 12th-ranked Texas (20-6) in the quarterfinals Saturday at 1 p.m. ET. The Longhorns upset fifth-ranked Tennessee 4-3 on Thursday. The two-time defending NCAA champion Bulldogs now have won 15 straight NCAA Tournament matches. Georgia beat Texas 4-2 last year in Tulsa to win the 2008 NCAA national title.

On Thursday, Georgia claimed a 1-0 lead by winning the doubles point and then rallied back in the singles to advance. It was the first time since the 1997 NCAA semifinal win over top seed UCLA in Los Angeles that Georgia dropped the first set in five of the six singles matches in the NCAA Tournament and then came back to win the match. In singles, Georgia picked up wins from senior captain Josh Varela, junior All-American Jamie Hunt and got the clinching win from junior All-American Nate Schnugg at No. 1.

The fifth-ranked duo of Hunt and Schnugg were the first to finish, defeating No. 21 Ruan Roelofse and Dennis Nevolo 8-5 in the No. 1 match. The All-America Bulldog duo improved to 29-11 overall and 20-6 in the top spot. Then, the No. 2 Illinois tandem of Marc Spicijaric and Marek Czerwinski posted an 8-4 win over Georgia’s Bora Malo and Christian Vitulli. The point came down to the No. 3 match and at that point, Georgia was up a break at 6-4. Both teams held their next service game to make it 7-5 and then the Bulldogs picked up a final break on Meedo El Tabakh’s serve to take the match and the first team point. The Bernstein/Garrapiz tandem is now 21-10 overall including 10-2 at the No. 3 spot. Georgia improved to 20-0 this season in matches where it won the doubles point.

Illinois fought back to win the first set in five of the six singles matches. The lone exception was at No. 4 where Varela led Czerwinski 6-4. The feature match at No. 1 went to a tiebreaker, and 73rd-ranked Spicijaric edged 12th-ranked Schnugg 7-4. Illinois tied the match when 50th-ranked Roy Kalmanovich defeated 62nd-ranked Garrapiz 6-3,6-3 in the No. 2 contest. Then, the Fighting Illini took a 2-1 overall lead when Chin beat Bernstein 6-4,6-2 in the No. 5 match. Schnugg, Hunt and Vitulli responded by rallying to split sets in their matches. Meanwhile, Varela notched a key service break to go up 6-5 in the second set of his match and then closed Czerwinski out to knot the match at 2-2. Varela’s 6-4,7-5 win improved his record to 30-8 including 14-2 at No. 4.

Hunt managed an early break in the final set and then was in danger of giving it right back when he fell behind 40-0. However, he rattled off five straight points to take a 4-1 lead on the 39th-ranked Nevolo. At No. 1, Schnugg and Spicijaric were on serve at 2-2 while at No. 6, Roelofse was up a break at 4-3 on Vitulli. Schnugg went up 3-2 courtesy of a service break. Then, Hunt capped his comeback over Nevolo. Hunt’s 4-6,6-2,6-2 victory that made it 3-2 Bulldogs. Schnugg held serve to a 4-2 lead. However, Illinois tied the match at 3-all when Roelofse edged Vitulli 6-4,3-6,6-4.

Spicijaric held serve to trail 4-3 as all eyes moved to court one where the match would be decided. Bolstered by two aces for the final two points of the eighth game, Schnugg held serve to go up 5-3. Spcijaric did the same and then Schnugg used a nifty drop shot on his second match point to clinch it for the Bulldogs. Schnugg is now 35-13 overall and 18-6 at No. 1.

“I knew before the match it was going to be a tough one, I’ve know Marc (Spicijaric) for a couple of years and know his history at the NCAAs,” said Schnugg. “He plays really great here, and he did today. I knew we lost the first set in five of the matches, and in mine, I just concentrated on making a fresh start after he won a tiebreaker for the first one. I know my teammates, and I have confidence in them. I trust them to fight back and that allowed me to relax and play my own match.”

Georgia coach Manuel Diaz said Illinois put up a tremendous fight and singled out Spicijaric for his class and sportsmanship not just today but throughout his career.

“I thought we showed tremendous poise and composure and fight all day,” said Diaz. “We won the doubles and then Illinois got off to a great start in singles. We had some issues in some matches and hit the wall in some but you have to credit Illinois for coming out real strong. Overall, Nate, Jamie and Josh showed a lot of leadership in battling back to win the second set in their matches. For Nate and Jamie, it extended their match and let them establish themselves in the third, and for Josh, it got us a big singles win. Josh is an important piece to this team.”

Diaz added that Georgia’s NCAA Tournament experience helped carry them to a win Thursday.

“Winning is a habit, and it’s a mindset that our guys carry on to the court and in practice, it’s something we talk about and ask the guys to take ownership of each time out,” said Diaz. “When we get in a match that is close or we fall behind, our guys see themselves as victors and seize the opportunity, and they did that today.”

#4 Georgia 4, #13 Illinois 3
Doubles
1. #5 Jamie Hunt/Nate Schnugg def. #21 Ruan Roelofse/Dennis Nevolo (UI) 8-5
2. #41 Marc Spicijaric/Marek Czerwinski (UI) def. Borja Malo/Christian Vitulli (UGA) 8-4
3. Drake Bernstein/Javier Garrapiz (UGA) def. Waylon Chin/Meedo El Tabakh (UI) 8-5

Singles
1. #12 Nate Schnugg (UGA) def. #73 Marc Spicijaric (UI) 6-7(4),6-4,6-4
2. #50 Roy Kalmanovich (UI) def. #62 Javier Garrapiz (UGA) 6-3,6-3
3. #75 Jamie Hunt (UGA) def. #39 Dennis Nevolo (UI) 4-6,6-2,6-2
4. Josh Varela (UGA) def. Marek Czerwinski (UI) 6-4,7-5
5. Waylon Chin (UI) def. Drake Bernstein (UGA) 6-4,6-2
6. Christian Vitulli (UGA) vs. Ruan Roelofse (UI) def. Christian Vitulli (UGA) 6-4,3-6,6-4
Order of Finish: Doubles (12,3); Singles (2,5,4,3,6,1)

- Georgia Sports Communications