[break] The fourth-ranked Georgia men’s tennis team’s run in the ITA National Indoor Championships came to an end Sunday afternoon with a 4-1 loss in the semifinals to top-ranked USC at the Midtown Athletic Club.
[break] [break] The Bulldogs won the doubles point to take the early lead, but USC answered by winning four straight singles matches to advance to Monday’s final against Oklahoma.
[break] [break] For the third time in as many matches, Austin Smith and Ben Wagland gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead by clinching the doubles point. The Bulldog tandem knocked off the nation’s No. 1 ranked team of Yannick Hanfmann and Roberto Quiroz, 6-4. Smith and Wagland had not played together in a match this season until National Indoors, and they won all three matches against teams ranked Nos. 1, 11 and 12.
[break] [break] Wayne Montgomery and Paul Oosterbaan cruised to a 6-1 win over Nick Crystal and Conner Farren at No. 3 to give the Bulldogs the early advantage. The match at No. 2 featuring Eric Diaz and Nathan Pasha was abandoned at 5-5 when Georgia clinched the doubles point.
[break] [break] Eric Johnson won the first completed singles match at No. 4 against Nick Wood for the Trojans’ first point, then Crystal beat Oosterbaan 6-2, 6-4 to make it 2-1 USC. De Vroome defeated Wagland, 7-5, 6-1 at No. 4, then 24th-ranked Quiroz clinched the match for USC (9-0) with a 7-6, 6-3 win over No. 21 Smith at No. 2.
[break] [break] No. 17 Montgomery led seventh-ranked Hanfmann, 4-1 in the third set, and Pasha was tied with No. 20 Jonny Wang 3-3 in the third set when the match was clinched.
[break] [break] The Bulldogs will take a 6-2 record into the outdoor season with two wins against top-five teams and both losses coming to the No. 1-ranked Trojans.
[break] [break] Georgia will be back in action Sunday, Feb. 22 when it takes on Furman at 2:30 p.m. at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

[break] [break] #1 USC 4, #4 Georgia 1

Doubles (Order of finish: 3,1)
1. Austin Smith/Ben Wagland (UGA) def. #1 Yannick Hanfmann/Roberto Quiroz (USC), 6-4
2. Eric Diaz/Nathan Pasha (UGA) vs.#38 Max De Vroome/Eric Johnson (USC), 5-5, unf.
3. Wayne Montgomery/Paul Oosterbaan (UGA) def. Nick Crystal/Connor Farren (USC), 6-1

Singles (Order of finish: 4,6,5,2)
1. #17 Wayne Montgomery (UGA) vs. #7 Yannick Hanfmann (USC), 6-4, 3-6, 4-1, unf.
2. #24 Roberto Quiroz (USC) def. #21 Austin Smith (UGA), 7-6, 6-3
3. #15 Nathan Pasha (UGA) vs. #20 Jonny Wang (USC), 3-6, 6-2, 3-3, unf.
4. Eric Johnson (USC) def. Nick Wood (UGA), 6-1, 6-1
5. Max De Vroome (USC) def. Ben Wagland (UGA), 7-5, 6-1
6. #49 Nick Crystal (USC) def. Paul Oosterbaan (UGA), 6-2, 6-4