University of Georgia Athletics
University of Georgia
SEC Fall Classic
Three Bulldogs Advance At SEC Fall Classic
September 19, 2013 | Men's Tennis
Sept. 19, 2013
NASHVILLE, Tenn.-----Three members of the Georgia men's tennis team advanced to the third round of the SEC Fall Classic with straight-sets wins at Vanderbilt's Currey Tennis Center on Thursday.
Fifth-seeded Nathan Pasha began the day for the Bulldogs with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Tennessee's Sunay Bhat to improve to 7-0 on the season. No. 72-ranked Pieters topped South Carolina's Andrew Schafer, 6-0, 6-3, and Austin Smith downed Florida's Elliot Orkin, 6-3, 6-2.
Sophomore Nick Wood was forced to retire with an injury in the second set of his match against South Carolina's Tsvetan Mihov. No. 14-ranked Mihov won the first set, 7-6, and led 2-1 in the second set when the match ended. As a result of the injury, Wood and Smith withdrew from the doubles draw.
Georgia, however, will have a doubles team in the round of 16. Pasha and Pieters, who last played together during the 2011-12 season, advanced with an 8-5 win over Kentucky's Nils Ellefson and Beck Pennington.
"Nathan, Hernus and Austin had good, solid wins," head coach Manuel Diaz said. "They are off to a great start. Nick's movement was affected by his heel injury. He just couldn't move like he normally does, and I know that being the competitor he is, it was best for him to stop. We hated to do that, but we have to look out for his well being long-term, and we'll have him evaluated next week. Overall, we had some good wins today, and we'll have some even greater challenges tomorrow. We are looking forward to that."
Friday's action at the SEC Fall Classic will include two rounds of singles and a round of doubles. In the round of 32, Pasha will face Mississippi State's Florian Lakat, Pieters will play Ole Miss' Stefan Lindmark and Smith will square off against Tennessee's 24th-ranked Hunter Reese. In doubles, Pasha and Pieters will face LSU's Harrison Kennedy and John Michael Busch.
Thursday's Georgia Results
Singles Round of 64
#32 [5] Nathan Pasha (UGA) def. Sunay Bhat (UT), 6-1, 6-0
#72 Hernus Pieters (UGA) def. Andrew Schafer (USC), 6-0, 6-3
#14 Tsvetan Mihov (USC) def. Nick Wood (UGA), 7-6, 2-1, ret.
Austin Smith (UGA) def. Elliot Orkin (UF), 6-3, 6-2
Doubles Round of 32
Nathan Pasha/Hernus Pieters (UGA) def. Nils Ellefson/Beck Pennington (UK), 8-5
Friday's Georgia Matches
Singles Round of 32
#32 [5] Nathan Pasha (UGA) vs. Florian Lakat (MSU)
#72 Hernus Pieters (UGA) vs. Stefan Lindmark (MISS)
Austin Smith (UGA) vs. #24 Hunter Reese (UT)
Doubles Round of 16
Nathan Pasha/Hernus Pieters (UGA) vs. Harrison Kennedy/John Michael Busch (LSU)
