Georgia tennis Dawgs advance in Indoor National Championships
Georgia tennis Dawgs play into the USTA/ITA National round of 16.
Georgia’s junior Austin Smith and senior Nathan Pasha both advanced to the round of 16 in the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships Thursday.
More from Georgia Bulldogs News
- Nick Chubb is America’s running back, and he will return
- Georgia Football: Report cards for Week 3 game against South Carolina
- Georgia Football: The AFCA Coaches Poll ranks Dawgs #1
- Top 5 SEC Stadiums according to a Georgia fan
- Georgia Football: Heavy favorites in SEC Football Media Poll
Smith beat Columbia’s No. 108 Ashok Narayana 6-3, 7-6(5), while Pasha beat Wake Forest’s fifth-seeded and 20th-ranked Romain Bogaerts 6-3, 6-4. Smith will face Vanderbilt’s Gonzales Austin, while Pasha will take on Virginia’s Thai-Son Kwiatkowski on today (Friday) .
Pasha earned his place in the Indoor Championships by reaching the quarterfinals of the All-American Championships in Tulsa in early October. Later in the month, Smith defeated Pasha in an all Bulldog USTA/ITA Regional Championships in Athens to earn his spot in the National Tournament.
Head Georgia tennis coach Manuel Diaz spoke to Georgaidogs.com.
"These were two good wins today. I’m really impressed with both of our guys. They played extremely solid, and the thing I was impressed with the most was their composure. They played well under pressure, won their share of no-ad deciding points and seemed to be in a good frame of mind. We are looking forward to tomorrow’s challenges."
The National Indoor Championships are being played at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadow, NY.
Also this weekend, five Georgia players will open play in the Bulldog Scramble Friday at 9 a.m. at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens. Friday’s schedule includes a round of doubles at 9 a.m., immediately followed by singles, then another round of singles at 2:30 p.m. The six players competing this weekend in Athens include Wayne Montgomery, Eric Diaz, Ben Wagland, Nick Wood, Andy Martinez and Brad Kilborn. Paul Oosterbaan and Peter Bertran are being held out of the tournament due to injuries.
Georgia opens spring play at the MLK Invitational at Georgia Tech in Atlanta (Jan. 17-19). Dual match play begins with the ITA Kickoff vs. Michigan State in Athens on Jan. 23 with the winner of the two-day tournament advancing to the ITA Team Indoor Championships Feb. 13-16 in Chicago. West coast powers UCLA (Jan. 31) and USC (Feb. 1) come to Athens for the SEC-Pac-12 Showdown at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.