[su_spacer size=”40″] Montgomery knocked off the No. 1 player in the country, Axel Alvarez of Oklahoma, 6-4, 6-2, and Smith downed North Carolina’s 14th-ranked Ronnie Schneider, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2. The top-four seeds all fell in the first round, and Georgia and TCU are the only schools with two players in the quarterfinals.
[su_spacer size=”40″] “Overall it was a very good day,” said associate head coach Bo Hodge. “To get two wins against guys that caliber is impressive. Wayne beat the No. 1 player in the country and someone who I know well from coaching him at Oklahoma the last three years. He stuck to the game plan, and it was great for him to get that win. The most impressive thing about Austin was the way he kept his composure. He lost seven deuce points and still won the match, and that was incredible.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] This was the third matchup in the last 12 months between Montgomery and Alvarez. They split a pair of matches last season with Montgomery winning the first contest in the Southern Intercollegiate Championships and Alvarez winning in the quarterfinals of the NCAA team tournament in May. Montgomery, who won the 2015 Southern Intercollegiates on Monday, is off to a 6-0 start.
[su_spacer size=”40″] For Smith, it was the highest-ranked opponent he has defeated in his UGA career.
[su_spacer size=”40″] No. 16-ranked Montgomery will now take on Tulsa’s Dominik Koepfer in the quarterfinals, while 17th-ranked Smith will face Texas Tech’s Felipe Soares. Both matches are scheduled to start Saturday at 2 p.m. ET, and the winners will play again in the semifinals later in the day.
[su_spacer size=”40″] In doubles, No. 1-ranked Smith and Ben Wagland dropped their first round match to Pepperdine’s Guilherme Hadlich and Gabriel Sidney 3-6, 7-5, 11-9. Smith and Wagland will play a consolation match on Saturday.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Said Hodge: “It was disappointing to lose the doubles match. Austin and Ben were up a set and a break and had two match points. It’s tough to let those get away, but they’ll have a chance to bounce back tomorrow.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] The Oracle/ITA Masters is the first national collegiate championship of the 2015-16 season, and singles champion will earn an automatic bid to the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championship.
[su_spacer size=”40″] It was announced Friday that the men’s and women’s singles finals will air live on the Tennis Channel Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET.
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