The No. 16 Georgia men’s tennis team is scheduled to face East Tennessee State at 2 p.m. ET this Sunday for its first outdoor match of the 2016 season at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. The Bulldogs are 4-3 coming off the 2016 ITA Men’s Indoor Championships, while the Buccaneers head to Athens with a 3-4 record.

Georgia is currently riding a 26-match winning streak in home outdoor regular season dual matches. The Bulldog’s last regular season home dual loss came on March 30, 2012 to Kentucky.

2016 ITA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS REVIEW: The Bulldogs went 1-2 two weekends ago at the 2016 ITA Men’s Indoor Championships, opening the Championships with a hard-fought, 4-3, loss to No. 4 UCLA. Georgia bounced back taking down 16th-ranked Columbia, 4-3, before falling to No. 10 Texas Tech, 4-2.

Senior Austin Smith highlighted the weekend for the Bulldogs with four wins in singles and doubles matches against ranked opponents. The Cumming, Georgia native did not lose a singles match on the weekend, going 3-0, including a dominating, 6-3, 6-2, defeat of Texas Tech’s No. 10 Hugo Dojas.

RANKINGS: Three Georgia singles players and one doubles duo earned spots in the latest Oracle/ITA College Tennis Rankings. The doubles pair of Ben Wagland and Austin Smith moved up to No. 5 nationally after going 2-1 at the 2016 ITA Men’s Indoor National Championships in Charlottesville, Virginia. Sophomore Wayne Montgomery moved up one spot to 21st nationally after defeating No. 18 Felipe Soares of Texas Tech. Austin Smith moved to No. 27 after a perfect 3-0 singles record including three wins against ranked opponents at the Men’s Indoor Championships. Freshman Walker Duncanrounded out the rankings coming in at No. 104.

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 victories against the Tigers’ No. 87-ranked Andrew Watson at the top singles spot.

BULLDOG FRESHMEN SHINE: Three Georgia freshmen have seen consistent time in the Bulldog’s lineup this indoor season. The trio of Walker Duncan, Emil Reinberg and Jan Zielinski have combined for nine singles wins and played a part in 12 doubles victories. Duncan is currently nursing an injury, but hopes to return to the lineup soon.

UP NEXT: Georgia kicks off Southeastern Conference play on Friday, March 4 with a home match against Mississippi State at 2:30 p.m. ET at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. The Bulldogs host Alabama two days later on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.

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