The sixth-ranked and SEC regular season champion UGA men’s tennis team is set for the 2016 SEC Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed and will face the winner of Alabama and Ole Miss on Friday at 2 p.m. ET in Columbia, South Carolina.
 
 
GEORGIA’S SEC TOURNAMENT HISTORY:
Georgia is 50-17 all-time in the SEC Tournament with nine titles, most recently in 2013. The SEC began its current team format tournament in 1990, and this is the 13th time – and fourth consecutive year – that the Bulldogs have been the No. 1 seed. Georgia was the No. 1 seed three consecutive seasons from 2006-2008, and UGA is 25-6 as the top seed in the SEC Tournament.
 
 
The Bulldogs have won the SEC regular season title and the SEC Tournament in the same season seven times: 1991, 1993, 1995, 2001, 2006, 2007 and 2013. Georgia’s nine SEC Tournament titles is most in the league, while Florida is next with four. UGA has 16 appearances in the final.
 
 
LEAGUE PERFECTION:
With its victories against No. 18 Arkansas and No. 29 Ole Miss this past weekend, the Bulldogs finished the 2016 SEC slate with a perfect 12-0 record, Georgia’s first since its 2007 NCAA National Championship squad. With its win against the Razorbacks, Georgia clinched its 39th SEC title overall.
 
 
ROAD TO 40:
With its 5-2 defeat of No. 18 Arkansas this past Friday, the Georgia men’s tennis team clinched the 2016 Southeastern Conference regular season crown, marking the 39th time in school history that Georgia has won either a SEC regular season or tournament title. The Bulldogs are searching for their 40th conference title in the 2016 SEC Tournament.
 
 
SENIORS MAKE HISTORY:
Austin Smith, Ben Wagland and Nick Wood have engraved their mark in UGA history. The senior class went a perfect 24-0 at home in SEC regular season matches and became the first senior class since 1972 to win four-straight SEC regular season crowns, a feat that has only been done three times in Georgia’s storied men’s tennis history.
 
 
UNDERCLASSMEN SHINE FOR GEORGIA:
The Bulldogs’ current lineup features a strong group of underclassmen. Four of Georgia’s six singles players are either freshmen or sophomores, while the Bulldogs’ current doubles lineup features a pair of freshman/sophomore duos in Paul Oosterbaan and Jan Zielinski as well as the Wayne Montgomery/Emil Reinberg pair. The Bulldog freshman trio of Walker Duncan, Zielinski and Reinberg are 21-4 in singles play vs. SEC opponents.
 
 
RANKINGS:
Senior Austin Smith highlighted Georgia’s rankings in the latest ITA polls moving up to No. 17 in singles and No. 7 in doubles with fellow senior Ben Wagland. Sophomore Wayne Montgomery dropped one spot to No. 35, while redshirt-sophomore Paul Oosterbaan came in at No. 96. The Bulldogs remained at No. 6 after their wins against No. 18 Arkansas and No. 29 Ole Miss.
 
 
BULLDOGS EARN RECOGNITION:
Sophomore Wayne Montgomery, redshirt-sophomore Paul Oosterbaan and senior Austin Smith all earned SEC Athlete of the Week honors earlier this season. Montgomery was honored as SEC player of the Week on March 23 after leading the Bulldogs to a pair of ranked wins, including a victory over No. 5 Ohio State. Oosterbaan picked up the recognition on March 9 after leading Georgia to a 2-0 start in SEC play. Smith earned his honor on April 6, after clinching both of Georgia’s wins against No. 13 Texas A&M and No. 33 LSU.
 
 
UP NEXT:
Georgia awaits its NCAA Tournament seeding following the SEC Tournament. First and Second Round action will be played at select sites across the country from May 13-15, followed by the NCAA Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma on May 19-30.
 
 
FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS:
For more information on the Georgia men’s tennis team, follow the team on Twitter (@UGATennis), Instagram (@ugatennis) and Facebook (UGA Men’s Tennis).
 
 

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