After an uplifting upset of number four ranked UCLA on Saturday, the Bulldogs were brought back down to earth by number one ranked Southern California 4-0 on Sunday.
Powered at number 1 singles by third ranked Yannick Hanfmann’s and at doubles by number one ranked Hanfmann and Roberto Quiroz, the undefeated Southern California tennis team dropped the seventh ranked Georgia tennis men to 3-1.
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The Bulldogs (3-1) split a pair of matches in the two-day SEC/Pac-12 Showdown held at UGA’s Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Facility, defeating No. 4 UCLA on Saturday before dropping Sunday’s contest to the Trojans.
For Sunday’s match, Georgia moved 32 ranked Wayne Montgomery ahead of 15 ranked Nathan Pasha at number one singles, but the tactic failed to produce a point as Montgomery lost in two close sets to Hanfmann and Pasha was upset by the 68th ranked Quiroz. Georgia also played its number one doubles team of Montgomery and Pasha at number three doubles, but the match was not completed when the Dawgs fell at the one and two doubles matches.
“USC really played like the championship team that they are,” said Georgia coach Manuel Diaz told Georgiadogs.com. “They won the big points today, and all the credit goes to them. I think our team fought well. We didn’t play poorly, and all the matches were contested. They were just a little bit better than we were. I think we can learn a lot from this. Our guys need to hold their heads high. We had some matches out there that we could’ve turned the tide on, but all the credit goes to USC. They did a phenomenal job out there today.”
The Trojans won doubles matches at Nos. 1 and 2 to claim the early 1-0 lead. The nation’s No. 1-ranked pair of Hanfmann and Quiroz beat sixteenth ranked Paul Oosterbaan and Ben Wagland, 6-2, then Max De Vromme and Eric Johnson clinched the doubles point at No. 2 with a 6-3 win over thirty fourth ranked Eric Diaz and Austin Smith. The No. 3 doubles match featuring the UGA team of Wayne Montgomery and Nathan Pasha was abandoned at 4-4.
In singles, Quiroz was first to finish at No. 2 with a 7-5, 6-2 win over No. 15 Pasha, then third-ranked Hanfmann held off No. 32 Montgomery at No. 1, 6-4, 7-6(4). Montgomery, who was playing No. 1 for the first time in his career, broke to tie the second set at 5-5, then went ahead 6-5 before Hanfmann rallied to win.
The Trojans (4-0) clinched the match at No. 4 where Johnson outlasted Nick Wood 6-1, 4-6, 7-5. Smith was in the third set at No. 2, and matches at Nos. 5 and 6 were early in the first set when Johnson clinched the win for USC.
Georgia’s loss snaps its 27-match regular season home winning streak that began in 2012.
The Bulldogs will be back in action Friday at 5 p.m. against Georgia Tech in their first road match of the season.
Complete Match Results
Singles competition
1. #3 Yannick Hanfmann (USC) def. #32 Wayne Montgomery (UGA) 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
2. #68 Roberto Quiroz (USC) def. #15 Nathan Pasha (UGA) 7-5, 6-2
3. #11 Austin Smith (UGA) vs. #8 Jonny Wang (USC) 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 1-2, unfinished
4. Eric Johnson (USC) def. #101 Nick Wood (UGA) 6-1, 4-6, 7-5
5. Ben Wagland (UGA) vs. #58 Nick Crystal (USC) 1-1, unfinished
6. Paul Oosterbaan (UGA) vs. #104 Max De Vroome (USC) 0-1, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #1 Yannick Hanfmann/Roberto Quiroz (USC) def. #16 Paul Oosterbaan/Ben Wagland (UGA) 6-2
2. Max De Vroome/Eric Johnson (USC) def. #34 Eric Diaz/Austin Smith (UGA) 6-3
3. #53 Wayne Montgomery/Nathan Pasha (UGA) vs. Nick Crystal/Connor Farren (USC) 4-4, unfinished