University of Georgia Athletics
Austin Smith Named SEC Tennis Player Of The Week
April 13, 2015 | Men's Tennis
ATHENS----University of Georgia men's tennis junior Austin Smith has been named the SEC Player of the Week, according to an announcement Monday by the conference office.
Smith continued his impressive finish to the regular season by winning all four of his matches last week, including three against ranked opponents and the clincher against 14th-ranked Ole Miss to give the Bulldogs the 2015 SEC championship. He defeated the Rebels' 16th-ranked Nik Scholtz 6-4, 6-4 at No. 1 to lift Georgia to a 4-0 victory and its 29th SEC regular season title in program history. Earlier in the match, Smith and Ben Wagland, the nation's top-ranked doubles team, fought off two match points and defeated Ole Miss' 46th-ranked doubles team at No. 1, 7-6(6) to clinch the doubles point and give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead.
Against Arkansas on Thursday, Smith and Wagland won the first completed doubles match at No. 1, then Smith topped No. 93 Giammarco Micolani 6-1, 6-4 to extend UGA's lead against the Razorbacks to 3-0.
Smith now leads the team with 14 dual match singles wins, and he is tied for the team lead with eight SEC victories. He has won a combined 22 singles and doubles matches against ranked opponents this season. Smith and Wagland have now been ranked No. 1 in doubles for three consecutive weeks.
This marks the second time Smith has garnered SEC Player of the Week honors this season.
Smith and the Bulldogs (19-3, 11-1 SEC) will open play in the SEC Tournament as the No. 1 seed Friday against Alabama or Tennessee at 4 p.m. The tournament will be played in College Station, Texas.
