[su_spacer size=”40″] Smith continued his impressive finish to the regular season by winning all four of his matches last week, including three against ranked opponents and the clincher against 14th-ranked Ole Miss to give the Bulldogs the 2015 SEC championship. He defeated the Rebels’ 16th-ranked Nik Scholtz 6-4, 6-4 at No. 1 to lift Georgia to a 4-0 victory and its 29th SEC regular season title in program history. Earlier in the match, Smith and Ben Wagland, the nation’s top-ranked doubles team, fought off two match points and defeated Ole Miss’ 46th-ranked doubles team at No. 1, 7-6(6) to clinch the doubles point and give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Against Arkansas on Thursday, Smith and Wagland won the first completed doubles match at No. 1, then Smith topped No. 93 Giammarco Micolani 6-1, 6-4 to extend UGA’s lead against the Razorbacks to 3-0.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Smith now leads the team with 14 dual match singles wins, and he is tied for the team lead with eight SEC victories. He has won a combined 22 singles and doubles matches against ranked opponents this season. Smith and Wagland have now been ranked No. 1 in doubles for three consecutive weeks.
[su_spacer size=”40″] This marks the second team Smith has garnered SEC Player of the Week honors this season.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Smith and the Bulldogs (19-3, 11-1 SEC) will open play in the SEC Tournament as the No. 1 seed Friday against Alabama or Tennessee at 5 p.m. The tournament will be played in College Station, Texas.