Traveling to Atlanta with three less bodies, the two-thirds left of the Georgia men’s tennis team competed in the Georgia Tech Invitational over the course of the weekend.

While seniors Nate Schnugg, Jamie Hunt and junior Javier Garrapiz stayed in Athens to

prepare for the

upcoming ITA All-America Championships in Tulsa, Okla., the remaining Bulldogs ventured to Atlanta to battle on the courts against top opponents.

After making it to the quarterfinals, senior Christian Vitulli and junior Drake Bernstein were both defeated by a pair of tennis players from Knoxville.

Tennessee’s Matteo Fago took out Vitulli in two sets 6-3, 6-1, while Fago’s teammate Rhyne Williams defeated Bernstein 6-3, 6-3.

“They ran into some top players in Fago and Rhyne Williams at Tennessee, who are probably going to play three or four for Tennessee. They were playing players who are highly accomplished, and that are very good. I thought our matches with them were very competitive,” head coach Manuel Diaz said.

“I like to think that we can play, and there are some things that we can do that will give them a better chance against those same opponents next time.”

But upon entering the consolation draw after suffering defeat, Bernstein went to work on UNC-Wilmington’s Kinshuk Sharma, defeating Sharma 6-3, 6-0.

“Drake played great again today,” associate head coach Will Glenn told georgiadogs.com. “He is on the right track, and has a lot to build on from his performance here over the weekend.”

While Bernstein and Vitulli advanced to the quarterfinals before being eliminated, Diaz saw other Bulldogs play quality tennis in the earlier rounds, notating their promise for future tournaments in the fall, as well as heading into the spring.

“I was very pleased with [freshman] Will Reynolds’ performance. I thought he played some very good tennis,” he said.

“[Freshman] Will Oliver just needs a few more matches. He’s coming back from knee surgery, which kind of had him sidelined for close to a year. So it’s going to take a little bit longer for him to show – during actual match play – to show what he’s capable of doing.”

As six of the Bulldogs returned to Athens Monday, Schnugg, Hunt and Garrapiz packed up and headed toward Oklahoma to further solidify their reputations as beasts on the tennis courts – as all three will compete in the singles draw while Schnugg and Hunt are set to compete in the doubles draw as well.

“They’re ready to compete. They’re going to be playing the country’s best competition, so it’ll be fierce competition. But I think we’re looking forward to a good tournament,” Diaz said.

“[Schnugg and Hunt] are the second highest ranked team in the country [in doubles play]. They got an opportunity to win a national championship,” Diaz said. “They’re excited, and we’re just going to try to go get it.”