The eighth-ranked Georgia men’s tennis team won two doubles matches and three singles matches on the second day of the MLK Invitational Sunday at Georgia Tech’s Ken Byers Tennis Complex.
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The MLK Invitational is a singles and a doubles tournament featuring players from Georgia, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma and Columbia. The Bulldogs won two of three doubles matches against the Sooners on Sunday, then OU responded by winning four of six singles matches. UGA also notched a win over Georgia Tech to finish the day.
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“I thought we competed extremely well,” said Georgia coach Manuel Diaz. “It was a great day for all our gyys in the sense that we got some tremendous competition. There were a couple of really close matches that you’d like to see go the other way, but it was a good day, and we competed hard. It showed that we are making improvement, but we can still improve in certain areas. We just need to keep working. I was very pleased with our effort and very encouraged with where we are, but we still have a long way to go.”
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The Bulldog tandems of Eric Diaz/Austin Smith and Nathan Pasha/Nick Wood earned 6-4 victories over their Oklahoma counterparts to give Georgia five doubles wins in six MLK Invitational matches this weekend.
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In singles, 15th-ranked Pasha defeated No. 33 Dane Webb, 7-6(7), 6-4, for his second straight win over a ranked opponent, and Ben Wagland also improved to 2-0 on the weekend with a 7-6, 7-5 win over Florin Bragusi. Nick Wood and Paul Oosterbaan were edged out in the third set of their respective matches. In other action, freshman Peter Bertran rallied to beat Georgia Tech’s Elijah Melendez, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5.
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The MLK Invitational will conclude Monday as the Bulldogs will battle Georgia Tech at 2 p.m. Singles and doubles champions will be crowned at the conclusion of the tournament. Live scoring is available here: http://gado.gs/1c8
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Sunday’s Results
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Doubles
#38 Axel Alvarez Llamas/Dane Webb (Oklahoma) def. #16 Ben Wagland/Paul Oosterbaan (Georgia) 6-3
#34 Eric Diaz/Austin Smith (Georgia) def. Florin Bragusi/Alex Ghilea (Oklahoma) 6-4
Nathan Pasha/Nick Wood (Georgia) def. Jose Antonio Salazar/Austin Siegel (Oklahoma) 6-4
#34 Eric Diaz/Austin Smith (Georgia) def. Florin Bragusi/Alex Ghilea (Oklahoma) 6-4
Nathan Pasha/Nick Wood (Georgia) def. Jose Antonio Salazar/Austin Siegel (Oklahoma) 6-4
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Singles
#15 Nathan Pasha (Georgia) def. #33 Dane Webb (Oklahoma) 7-6 (9-7), 6-4
#14 Axel Alvarez Llamas (Oklahoma) def. #11 Austin Smith (Georgia) 6-3, 6-4
#50 Alex Ghilea (Oklahoma) def. #101 Nick Wood (Georgia) 6-4, 6-7, 7-5
Jose Antonio Salazar (Oklahoma) def. Paul Oosterbaan (Georgia) 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
Ben Wagland (Georgia) def. Florin Bragusi (Oklahoma) 7-6, 7-5
Austin Siegel (Oklahoma) def. Eric Diaz (Georgia) 3-6, 6-0, 6-4
#14 Axel Alvarez Llamas (Oklahoma) def. #11 Austin Smith (Georgia) 6-3, 6-4
#50 Alex Ghilea (Oklahoma) def. #101 Nick Wood (Georgia) 6-4, 6-7, 7-5
Jose Antonio Salazar (Oklahoma) def. Paul Oosterbaan (Georgia) 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
Ben Wagland (Georgia) def. Florin Bragusi (Oklahoma) 7-6, 7-5
Austin Siegel (Oklahoma) def. Eric Diaz (Georgia) 3-6, 6-0, 6-4
Peter Bertran (Georgia) def. Elijah Melendez (Georgia Tech) 4-6, 6-2, 7-5