The 6th ranked Georgia men’s tennis team will opne the 2016 dual match season at home against No. 48 UC Santa Barbara in the ITA Kickoff Saturday at 1 PM ET at the Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Facility.

 
The first match of the day will feature No. 37-ranked Louisville and No. 44 Memphis at 9 a.m. The winners will play Sunday at 5 p.m. for a berth in the National Indoor Championships, while the consolation match is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
Live results of each match will be available on Georgiadogs.com. Fans are welcome to join a live blog for full coverage of the Georgia men’s tennis matches over the two-day event. Links for both live results and the live blog are available at the top of the page.
 

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ABOUT THE ITA KICKOFF:

 
A total of 60 teams are competing for a place in the National Team Indoor Championships in Charlottesville, Va. Feb. 12-15. Host Virginia receives an automatic bid, leaving 15 spots available for each regional winner to complete the competitive 16-team field. Hosts were decided based on final 2015 rankings. The Bulldogs have won the National Team Indoors twice (2006, ‘07) and have reached the finals six times (1982, ‘94, ‘95, ‘97, ‘98, and 2009). The tournament began in 1973 and Georgia has played in it every year except 2003. A year ago, the Bulldogs posted ITA Kickoff victories over Michigan State and Utah in Athens before taking down Columbia and Illinois in Chicago. The team ultimately fell to USC in the semifinals.
 

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UGA SHINES AT MLK INVIATIONAL:

 
The Bulldogs opened up the 2016 spring indoor season with an impressive showing at the MLK Invitational in Atlanta. Georgia won 21 matches over the three-day event, led by No. 20 Wayne Montgomery, who garnered Singles Champion honors after finishing a perfect 6-0 on the weekend. The sophomore went 3-0 in singles matches and teamed up with Emil Reinberg to add another three victories in doubles matches.
 

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WINNING STREAK:

 
Georgia enters the ITA Kickoff on a 10-match regular season home-court winning streak. The streak started Feb. 22, 2015 with a 9-0 win over Furman. The Bulldogs came into the 2014-15 season riding a 24-match winning streak before falling to USC 4-0 on Feb. 2, 2015. UGA has won 34 of its last 35 home matches.
 

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REVIEWING THE FALL:

 
Georgia was led by Walker Duncan who posted 14 singles wins in the fall. Duncan was followed by Austin Smith with 10 victories, including a team-best three wins against ranked opponents. Sophomore Wayne Montgomery won his second straight Southern Intercollegiate title, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished by a Bulldog since John Isner in 2005-06. In doubles No. 1-ranked Austin Smith and Ben Wagland won 12 matches and earned an at-large bid to the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships where they won the consolation title.
 

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UP NEXT:

 
The Bulldogs head West for the SEC/Pac-12 Showdown for a pair of matches in Westwood, Calif. UGA squares off against No. 12 UCLA on Jan. 30, 2016 at 4 p.m. ET before facing No. 8 USC the following day at 1 p.m. ET.
 

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Saturday – January 23

9 a.m. – Match 1 – No. 37 Louisville vs. No. 44 Memphis

1 p.m. – Match 2 – No. 6 Georgia vs. No. 48 UC Santa Barbara

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Sunday – January 24

9 a.m. – Consolation Match – Loser of Match 1 vs. Loser of Match 2

5 p.m.- Championship Match – Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2

 

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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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