Men’s Tennis: Bulldogs Perfect On First Day Of Southern Intercollegiates

Ben Wagland, Photo courtesy of University of Georgia

Georgia players won all five of their singles matches and both doubles matches on the first day of the Southern Intercollegiate Championships Friday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

Ben Wagland, Nathan Pasha, Hernus Pieters, Austin Smith and Nick Wood all advanced to the second round of Division I singles with wins in the Bulldogs’ fall opener. No. 2-seeded Wagland defeated Leo Vivas of Barry University 6-4, 6-4, while third-seeded Pasha cruised to a 6-1, 6-3 win over Tennessee Tech’s Vasily Eremeev.

Pieters, seeded sixth, advanced with a 7-6(3), 6-3 victory over Lander’s Vincent Verpeaux, and the No. 8 seed Smith rallied to beat Virginia Tech’s Jai Corbett, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1. In the first match since he sustained a season-ending foot injury last February, Wood defeated Florida Atlantic’s Will Neuner, 6-4, 6-2.

In doubles, the team of Pieters and Wagland earned an 8-4 win over Vanderbilt’s Rhys Johnson and Ryan Smith in the round of 32, while Smith and Wood rolled to an 8-1 victory over Matt Browne and Juan Sheppard of Furman.

“I am very encouraged by the way our guys played,” said UGA coach Manuel Diaz. “They played well in singles and doubles, and for many of them it was their first match in a while. We are looking forward to even bigger challenges tomorrow.”

The tournament features 64-player singles draws for Divisions I, II and III and two doubles draws. The tournament’s No. 1 seed – Ryan Lipman of Vanderbilt – was upset by East Tennessee State’s Rogerio Ribeiro in Division I.

Second day action at the Southern Intercollegiates will start with Divisions I and II doubles Saturday at 8 a.m.

Georgia’s Results
Division I Singles Round of 64
Nick Wood, Georgia def. Will Neuner, FAU, 6-4, 6-1
[3] Nathan Pasha, Georgia def. Vasily Eremeev, Tenn. Tech, 6-1, 6-3
[6] Hernus Pieters, Georgia def. Vincent Verpeaux, Lander, 7-6(3), 6-3
[8] Austin Smith, Georgia def. Jai Corbett, Va. Tech, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1
[2] Ben Wagland, Georgia def. Leo Vivas, Barry, 6-4, 6-4

Division I Doubles Round of 32
Hernus Pieters/Ben Wagland, Georgia def. Rhys Johnson/Ryan Smith, Vandy, 8-4
Austin Smith/Nick Wood, Georgia def. Matt Browne/Juan Sheppard, Furman, 8-1