(Photo by Emily Selby)
Sitting atop the Southeastern Conference standings and riding a six-match win streak, the 11th-ranked Georgia men’s tennis team returns to the Dan Magill Tennis Complex this weekend to host Tennessee at 5 p.m. ET Friday, before welcoming No. 18 Kentucky on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
The Bulldogs are currently 10-3 overall and 4-0 in conference play. Tennessee is 6-9, 0-5 in league play, while Kentucky is 13-4, 3-2 in the SEC and is coming off victories against No. 10 Illinois and Morehead State earlier in the week.
SIX-STRAIGHT WINS FOR GEORGIA: The Bulldogs opened last weekend with a 7-0 shutout victory against No. 62 South Carolina on Friday night. Georgia returned home on Sunday for a marquee non-conference home matchup against fourth-ranked Ohio State, a match that Georgia won 4-2 in front of 1,010 UGA faithful at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. The Bulldogs, who have a perfect 4-0 SEC record, have won six-straight matches this season.
DAWGS ON TOP OF SEC STANDINGS: The Bulldogs sit atop the SEC standings following their perfect 4-0 start to conference play. Georgia remains the only team in the SEC that has yet to lose a conference match. UGA is a perfect 7-0 at home this season. The Bulldogs are in search of their 39th Southeastern Conference title.
MONTGOMERY HONORED FOR BIG WEEKEND: Sophomore Wayne Montgomery was honored as SEC player of the Week on March 23 after leading the Bulldogs to a pair of ranked wins, including a victory over #4 Ohio State. The Somerset West, South Africa native went 2-0 in singles matches, with one win coming against No. 24 Hugo Di Feo of Ohio State.
RANKINGS: Highlighting Georgia’s rankings is the doubles team of freshman Jan Zielinski and redshirt sophomore Paul Oosterbaan, who moved to No. 58 in the latest poll after being unranked last week. Zielinski and Oosterbaan have won four matches in a row, including a 6-3 victory against Ohio State’s 13th-ranked tandem of Relf Steinbach and Martin Joyce in their last outing. Teammates Ben Wagland and Austin Smith maintained their No. 5 spot in the doubles rankings. The Bulldog duo currently boasts a 10-3 record in dual match play this season.
The latest singles rankings featured three Georgia players as sophomore Wayne Montgomery, who went 2-0 last week, leads the Bulldogs with a No. 34 national ranking. Smith is at No. 35, while freshman Walker Duncan comes in at No. 120.
SMITH & OOSTERBAAN EARN RECOGNITION: Senior Austin Smith and redshirt-sophomore Paul Oosterbaan both earned SEC Athlete of the Week honors earlier this season. Smith’s honor came on Jan. 27 after going 2-0 in singles and 2-0 in doubles as he helped Georgia punch its ticket to the ITA National Indoor Championships. Oosterbaan picked up the recognition on March 9 after leading Georgia to a 2-0 start in SEC play.
UP NEXT: The Bulldogs hit the road for a big SEC matchup at No. 7 Texas A&M on April 1. The Aggies are currently 5-1 in league play and just behind Georgia in the SEC standings.
For more information throughout the weekend, follow the team on Twitter (@UGATennis), Instagram (@ugatennis) and Facebook (UGA Men’s Tennis).
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