Georgia Tennis Claims Another SEC Championship
After defeating Ole Miss to claim the SEC Championship, the Georgia tennis team walked off the courts – no jumping and hugging, no celebrating, no chest bumping. It’s just another day in the life of a Bulldog netter.
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The eighth-ranked Georgia tennis team claimed its twenty-ninth SEC regular season championship, defeating 14th-ranked Ole Miss 4-0 Saturday afternoon at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
“This is a great way to end the regular season,” said head coach Manuel Diaz to Georgiadogs.com. “We had great play on all six singles courts. Nick (Wood) gave us the first point, Paul (Oosterbaan) the second, and this was a tremendous win for Austin at No. 1. He is really locked in and finishing the regular season on point. He is playing tremendous tennis and is so focused right now. After we lost to Mississippi State, our guys recommitted, and they see how to handle the important matches and not take anything for granted. Now we go into the SEC Tournament with a lot of momentum and the number one seed.”
Georgia claimed the doubles point with a dramatic tie breaker win on Court 1 between the nation’s top-ranked pair of Smith and Ben Wagland and the 46 ranked Ole Miss doubles team of Zvonimir Babic and Nik Scholtz. Georgia lost an early advantage to go down 6-4. But Wagland and Smith dug in, winning the final four points to give the Dawgs the early one match lead. Nathan Pasha and Nick Wood defeated Grey Hamilton and William Kallberg 6-3 at No. 3, but within seconds Ole Miss (16-7, 8-4 SEC) claimed a 6-2 win at on Court 2 to set up the drama on Court 1.
“Ole Miss was serving so well and it kept them in the match,” Diaz told Georgiadogs.com. “Even though we got a lead in that tiebreaker, I thought our guys kept their composure and poise and continued to fight. That doubles point could have gone either way, and the match may have been a little bit different. I give credit to our No. 1 team. They played tremendous tennis.”
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No. 34
clinched the win with a tough 6-4, 6-4 victory over 16 ranked Nik Scholtz on Court 1. The junior from Cumming, Ga., leads the team with 14 dual match victories this season.
Wood won the first completed singles match on Court 5 and Oosterbaan followed moments later on Court 6 with his 10th consecutive win. Smith then clinched the match and the SEC title on Court 1.
Pasha and Eric Diaz were honored before the match as part of Senior Day festivities. Diaz did not play on Saturday after undergoing surgery earlier in the week.
The Bulldogs (19-3, 11-1 SEC) have also won nine conference tournament crowns for a total of 38 league titles.
Georgia carries the top seed to the upcoming SEC Tournament next week in College Station, Texas. Host Texas A&M, which shared the regular season SEC title with Georgia, will be the No. 2 seed.
With the double bye, Georgia will play in the quarterfinals Friday in College Station.
Tennis Match Results
Ole Miss vs Georgia
April 11, 2015 at Athens, Ga.
(Dan Magill Tennis Complex)
#8 Georgia 4, #14 Ole Miss 0
Singles competition
#34 Austin Smith (UGA) def. #16 Nik Scholtz (OM) 6-4, 6-4
2. #27 Wayne Montgomery (UGA) vs. #84 Stefan Lindmark (OM) 5-7, 3-3, unfinished
3. #25 Nathan Pasha (UGA) vs. Gustav Hansson (OM) 6-4, 6-5, unfinished
4. Ben Wagland (UGA) vs. William Kallberg (OM) 7-6 (8-6), 2-3, unfinished
5. Nick Wood (UGA) def. Vinod Gowda (OM) 6-1, 6-2
6. Paul Oosterbaan (UGA) def. Grey Hamilton (OM) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #1 Austin Smith/Ben Wagland (UGA) def. #46 Zvonimir Babic/Nik Scholtz (OM) 7-6 (8-6)
2. Gustav Hansson/Stefan Lindmark (OM) def. Wayne Montgomery/Paul Oosterbaan (UGA) 6-2
3. Nathan Pasha/Nick Wood (UGA) def. Grey Hamilton/William Kallberg (OM) 6-3
Match Notes:
Ole Miss 16-7 (8-4); National ranking #14
Georgia 19-3 (11-1); National ranking #8
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (5,6,1)
Official: Clark Weaver T-2:31 A-1,811