Tennis team advances

The men's tennis team advanced to the next round of the NCAA tournament by blanking UNC 4-0 last night in Athens.

ATHENS, Ga. -- On a day that started with four SEC men’s tennis teams alive in the NCAA Championships, only Georgia remains to carry the conference banner in the tournament quarterfinals.

The Bulldogs overwhelmed North Carolina 4-0 Friday night before a highly partisan crowd of more than 2,300 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

“It felt really electric,” Georgia’s Nathan Pasha said. “The crowd is so big and it provides a lot of energy, so you have to do a good job of not getting too excited with everyone out there.”

This is the first time any of Georgia’s starters have played before an NCAA championships crowd in Athens, 40 years after Georgia first hosted the event. It has since hosted the championships 30 times thanks to the efforts of longtime coach Magill, who made the event a mainstay at UGA thanks to a carnival-like atmosphere that was highly uncommon for college tennis.

The Bulldogs gave the home crowd plenty to cheer -- and their applause undulated from polite oohs when Sadio Doumbia snuck in a crafty drop shot during his singles match to a loud roar when Pasha clinched the Georgia victory with a win at No. 5 singles.