The 19th-ranked Georgia men’s tennis team kicks off the weekend on the road against No. 62 South Carolina on Friday afternoon in Columbia, South Carolina at 5 p.m. ET. The team returns home for a marquee non-conference home match against No. 4 Ohio State on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
 
 
DAWGS SINK COMMODORES: The Bulldogs went to Nashville last weekend and picked up its first SEC road win of the season and its third-straight conference victory with a 5-2 defeat of Vanderbilt. Senior Austin Smith defeated a ranked-opponent for the second-straight week, while freshman Walker Duncan clinched the match at the No. 4 court with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 win.
 
 
OOSTERBAAN NAMED SEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Redshirt-sophomore Paul Oosterbaan was named SEC Player of the Week on March 9. The Kalamazoo, Michigan native led Georgia to a pair of ranked wins over conference opponents to kick off SEC play. Oosterbaan went 2-0 on the weekend in singles action, defeating two ranked opponents. The redshirt-sophomore took down Mississippi State’s Rishab Agarwal, who was ranked No. 74 and riding an eight-match win streak at the time, 6-2, 6-4. He followed that by handily beating Alabama’s Becker O’Shaughnessy 6-0, 6-2. He also teamed up with Freshman Jan Zielinski in doubles for one victory against Alabama’s duo of O’Shaughnessey and Grayson Goldin.
 
 
RANKINGS: Three Georgia singles players and two doubles partners earned spots in the latest Oracle/ITA College Tennis Rankings. The doubles pair of Ben Wagland and Austin Smith remained at No. 5 nationally after going 2-0 in Georgia’s conference opening weekend. Wayne Montgomery and Emil Reinberg came in at No. 62 in doubles, their first ranking of the outdoor season. In singles, Montgomery led all Bulldogs coming in at No. 25, Smith remained at 27 and freshman Walker Duncan rounded out the ranking at No. 120. The Bulldogs came in at No. 19 overall as a team.
 
 
BULLDOG FRESHMEN SHINE: Three Georgia freshmen have seen consistent time in the Bulldog’s lineup this season. The trio of Walker Duncan, Emil Reinberg and Jan Zielinski have combined for 11 singles wins in dual action and played a part in nine doubles victories. Reinberg clinched UGA’s victory vs. ETSU with a 6-3, 7-5 on the No. 6 court. Zielinski did the same in UGA’s match against Alabama, after trailing 5-2 in the second set he ripped off five straight games to secure the Bulldogs’ victory 6-3, 7-5.
 
 
SMITH EARNS HONOR: No. 28-ranked senior Austin Smith was named SEC Player of the Week 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. The Cumming, Georgia, native clinched UGA’s 4-1 win against No. 44 Memphis with a three-set victory against the Tigers’ No. 87-ranked Andrew Watson at the top singles spot.
 
 
UP NEXT: The Bulldogs return to Athens for a pair of home matches on March 25 & 27. UGA squares off with Tennessee on Friday at 5 p.m. ET before facing Kentucky on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Both matches will be played at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.