Georgia’s No. 1-ranked doubles team of Austin Smith and Ben Wagland defeated South Florida’s 40th-ranked Dominic Cotrone and Sasha Gozun 8-4 to reach the semifinals of the USTA/ITA Southeast Regional Championships Sunday at Ring Tennis Complex at Linder Stadium.
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The Bulldog tandem will take on Florida’s 23rd-ranked Gordon Watson and Diego Hidalgo Monday, and the winners will play later in the day. In other action, Georgia’s team of Wayne Montgomery and Emil Reinberg fell to North Florida’s No. 50 Jack Findel-Hawkins and Yannick Zuern 8-5.
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Earlier in the day in singles, Smith retired from his quarterfinal match with a back injury. He won the first set 6-3, the Florida’s Elliott Orkin won the second set 6-4 and led 2-0 in the third when Smith retired. Wagland won his quarterfinal consolation match against Mercer’s Sam Philp 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-2, while Walker Duncan and Emil Reinberg were edged in the third sets of their consolation matches.
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“We had some close matches and some tough matches, and we didn’t quite win enough of them in singles,” said head coach Manuel Diaz. “Emil and Wayne played hard but just got outplayed by a nationally ranked team from North Florida. Our guys fought well, and it’s great to see our number one team of Ben and Austin play a solid match today. They’ll move on to the semis tomorrow, and it will be a big challenge for them.
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“Austin was disappointed as he was up a set and break in the second set, and that lead evaporated after he tweaked his back. And that’s not taking anything away from the performance of his opponent, who made it tough on him. Austin has been playing the tournament at less than 100 percent, but he’ll get ready to go in doubles tomorrow.”
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The singles and doubles winners from all 12 regional sites will earn bids to the National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships in New York Nov. 12-15.
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Georgia’s Sunday Results
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Main draw singles quarterfinals
[14] #86 Elliott Orkin [3] def. #17 Austin Smith (UGA) 3-6, 6-4, 2-0, ret.[su_spacer size=”40″]
Consolation singles quarterfinals
Justin Roberts (USF) def. Walker Duncan (UGA) 6-4, 5-7, 6-3
Terrance Whitehurst (FSU) def. Emil Reinberg (UGA) 7-6, 5-7, 6-4
#111 Ben Wagland (UGA) def. Sam Philp (Mercer) 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-2*
**Wagland withdrew from the consolation draw following his win.
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Doubles quarterfinals
#1 Austin Smith/Ben Wagland (UGA) def. #40 Dominic Cotrone/Sasha Gozun (USF) 8-4
#50 Jack Findel-Hawkins/Yannick
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