The Georgia men’s tennis team (7-3, 2-0) continued its strong start to the SEC schedule with a 6-1 victory over No. 49 Alabama (9-5, 1-1). The 16th-ranked Bulldogs have not lost to the Tide since 2003 and improve to 54-6 all-time in the series.
“I thought that we played a complete match today,” head coach Manuel Diaz said. “It was in my opinion the best match that we’ve played all year. I think that our guys competed with a lot of energy and played high quality tennis in both doubles and singles. We came out and didn’t take anything for granted. Alabama has tremendous talent up and down the lineup, but our guys held tough and really completed their matches in fine fashion. I couldn’t be more pleased.”
Georgia’s No. 2 pair set the tone early in doubles as Paul Oosterbaan and Jan Zielinski raced out to a lead against the Tide’s Becker O’Shaughnessey and Grayson Goldin and eventually won 6-3. The Bulldogs’ fifth-ranked pair of Austin Smith and Ben Wagland provided the doubles point clincher with a 6-4 victory over Alabama’s Korey Lovett and Mazen Osama. Smith and Wagland, both seniors, have now won five straight matches at No. 1 doubles.
In singles, Smith and Oosterbaan both stormed out of the gates to win six straight games in the first set. Smith, the No. 27 player nationally, would go on to defeat No. 118 Lovett 6-0, 6-3. Oosterbaan quickly added his first SEC ranked win of the season with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over No. 121 Becker O’Shaughnessey. Zielinski battled back from a 5-2 hole in the second set to win five straight games and take the match, 6-3, 7-5.
Once the match was in hand, senior Nick Wood and freshman Walker Duncan tacked on two additional Bulldog victories at Nos. 5 and 6. Wood defeated Alabama’s Matthew Rossouw 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 at No. 6, while No. 104 Duncan topped Spencer Richey 6-7(3), 6-4, 1-0(5).
Georgia will face its first SEC road test next Sunday as the Bulldogs take on No. 54 Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee. Georgia holds a 51-5 advantage in the all-time series and defeated the Commodores 4-1 in Athens last March.
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Tennis Match Results
#16 Georgia defeats #49 Alabama (6-1)
Mar 06, 2016 at Athens, Ga.
(Dan Magill Tennis Complex)
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (1,3,4,6,2,5)
Official: Clark Weaver T-2:45 A-506
Singles competition
1. #27 Austin Smith (UGA) def. #118 Korey Lovett (ALA) 6-0, 6-3
2. #93 Mazen Osama (ALA) def. #21 Wayne Montgomery (UGA) 6-2, 1-6, 6-3
3. Paul Oosterbaan (UGA) def. #121 B. O’Shaughnessey (ALA) 6-0, 6-2
4. Jan Zielinski (UGA) def. Grayson Goldin (ALA) 6-3, 7-5
5. #104 Walker Duncan (UGA) def. Spencer Richey (ALA) 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 1-0 (10-5)
6. Nick Wood (UGA) def. Matthew Rossouw (ALA) 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #5 Ben Wagland/Austin Smith (UGA) def. Korey Lovett/Mazen Osama (ALA) 6-4
2. Paul Oosterbaan/Jan Zielinski (UGA) def. B. O’Shaughnessey/Grayson Goldin (ALA) 6-3
3. Emil Reinberg/Wayne Montgomery (UGA) vs. Spencer Richey/Matthew Rossouw (ALA) 5-5, unfinished