COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS – Georgia junior Nate Schnugg outlasted Illinois freshman Dennis Nevolo 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 here Thursday to move on to the round of 16 at the NCAA Championships. Then, the fifth-ranked Schnugg/Jamie Hunt team rallied for an opening round win in the doubles too.

In singles, Nevolo notched a service break in the third game of the match and then held the remainder of the first set to take it 6-4. Schnugg picked up a service break in the eighth game of the second set and then closed it out 6-3. The final set was just as close with Schnugg pulling it out 7-5 to reach the round of 16.

With the win, the 12th-ranked Schnugg improved to 37-14 this year. Up next, Schnugg will face Stanford sophomore Alex Clayton. The duo squared off this past February in Chicago in the semifinals of the National Team Indoor Championships. Schnugg earned a 7-5,6-4 win as the Bulldogs registered a 4-2 victory over the Cardinal. On Thursday, Clayton eliminated the tournament’s No. 3 seed in third-ranked Bryan Koniecko (Ohio State) 6-3,6-7,6-1.

In the NCAA Doubles Championship, the Schnugg/Hunt duo avoided an upset at the hands of the 13th-ranked Virginia tandem of Houston Barrick and Sanam Singh. In the first meeting with the Virginia tandem back in February, the Cavaliers edged Schnugg/Hunt 9-8(3) during the National Team Indoors. Thursday’s match came down to a third set tiebreaker with the Bulldogs prevailing 7-4. They are seeded fourth and improve to 31-11.

The first set featured just one service break in the third game that the Cavaliers notched to eventually take the set 6-4. The teams exchanged breaks in the second and third games of the second set before both teams settled in as the Bulldogs claimed that set 6-3. The Cavaliers grabbed a 3-1 edge in the final set courtesy of a service break and then in the ninth game, Georgia needed to break back to stay in the match. They did just that highlighted by aggressive play at the net.

The Bulldogs took a 1-0 mini-break in the tiebreaker courtesy of a powerful service return winner by Schnugg. The Cavaliers got it back at 2-1 when Schnugg’s forehand volley failed to cross the net. The teams exchanged breaks two points later. At 3-3, Hunt produced a huge serve that resulted in a weak return that Schnugg smashed for an overhead winner. Barrick matched it with one of his own to tie it at 4-4. Hunt responded with a winner on Barrick’s serve for a 5-4 lead. Schnugg stepped up and delivered an ace for a 6-4 advantage. He came through with another big serve that the Cavaliers could not return over the next and the Bulldogs had won the match, 4-6,6-3,7-6(4).

- Georgia Sports Communications