The 11^th-ranked Georgia men’s tennis team (4-2) defeated Columbia (4-2) for the third time in as many seasons on Saturday as the Bulldogs topped the No. 15 Lions 4-3 in the consolation draw of the ITA National Men’s Team Indoor Championship held at the Boar’s Head Sports Club in Charlottesville, Virginia.

 
“Our guys fought a great battle,” head coach Manuel Diaz said. “Columbia is a very good team, especially indoors. It was a hard-fought, well-earned victory. Our doubles played very well and it was good to see our guys play a little looser and willing to risk a bit more. In singles, the guys on the even-numbered courts today were outstanding under pressure. It was great to see Austin set the tempo and Wood coming back from dropping the first set, and then Paul finally clinching it.”
 
The Bulldogs claimed the doubles point in dominating fashion at courts Nos. 1 and 3. Georgia’s No. 13 pair of Austin Smith and Ben Wagland handed the Lions’ No. 15 tandem of Shawn Hadavi and Richard Pham their first loss of 2016, 6-1. The Bulldogs’ No. 43 duo of Wayne Montgomery and Emil Reinberg quickly followed with a 6-2 decision over Columbia’s Eric Rubin and Christopher Grant to give Georgia the early 1-0 advantage.
 
Columbia jumped out to four out of six first-set victories in singles and tied the score at 1-1 after Columbia’s Shawn Hadavi took the match on court 1. The Lions’ No. 124 Rubin topped Jan Zielinski 7-6, 6-3 before Georgia’s No. 40 Smith evened the match at 2-all with a 7-6, 6-2 victory over No. 108 Victor Pham. Senior Nick Wood gave the Bulldogs a 3-2 advantage with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 decision on court 6 over Columbia’s Timothy Wang. After the Lions knotted the score at 3-all with a win at No. 5, No. 75 Paul Oosterbaan provided the thrilling three-set clincher with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 victory over Mike Vermeer.
 
Georgia will finish up play at National Indoors on Sunday at 9 a.m. against No. 14 Texas Tech in the consolation draw. Following National Indoors, the Bulldogs will begin the outdoor portion of the spring season. The outdoor season begins in Athens on February 28 at 2 p.m. ET against ETSU before Georgia hosts its SEC opener on March 4 against Mississippi State.
 
 

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TENNIS MATCH RESULTS:

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Georgia vs Columbia

 

Feb 13, 2016 at ITA Men’s National Team Indoors

 

(Boar’s Head Sports Club, Charlottesville)

 

#11 Georgia 4, #15 Columbia 3

 

Singles competition

1. Hadavi, Shawn (COL) def. #22 Wayne Montgomery (UGA) 6-4, 6-3
2. #40 Austin Smith (UGA) def. #108 Pham, Victor (COL) 7-6 (7-0), 6-2
3. #124 Rubin, Eric (COL) def. Jan Zielinski (UGA) 7-6 (7-3), 6-3
4. #75 Paul Oosterbaan (UGA) def. Vermeer, Mike (COL) 6-1, 4-6, 6-2
5. Pham, Richard (COL) def. Emil Reinberg (UGA) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
6. Nick Wood (UGA) def. Wang, Timothy (COL) 4-6, 6-1, 6-3

 

Doubles competition

1. #13 Austin Smith/Ben Wagland (UGA) def. #15 Hadavi, Shawn/Pham, Richard (COL) 6-1
2. #20 Vermeer, Mike/Rolski, Michal (COL) vs. Paul Oosterbaan/Jan Zielinski (UGA) 5-4, unfinished
3. #43 Wayne Montgomery/Emil Reinberg (UGA) def. Rubin, Eric/Grant, Christopher (COL) 6-2

 

Match Notes:

 

Georgia 4-2; National ranking #11

 

Columbia 4-2; National ranking #15

 

Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (1,3,2,6,5,4)

 

ITA Indoors Consolation Bracket

 

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For more information on the Georgia men’s tennis team, follow the team on:

 

Twitter: @UGATennis

 

Instagram: @ugatennis

 

Facebook: UGA Men’s Tennis

 

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