University of Georgia Athletics
University of Georgia
Southern Intercollegiate Championships
Bulldogs Sweep Southern Intercollegiate Titles
September 14, 2015 | Men's Tennis
The Bulldogs swept the Southern Intercollegiate Championship with Austin Smith and Ben Wagland winning doubles and Wayne Montgomery winning singles.
Sept. 14, 2015
ATHENS-----The Georgia men's tennis team claimed the Division I singles and doubles titles at the Southern Intercollegiate Championships Monday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Sophomore Wayne Montgomery won the singles championship for the second consecutive year, and seniors Austin Smith and Ben Wagland won the doubles crown.
Montgomery beat Georgia Gwinnett's Kevin Konfederak 6-4, 6-3 to become the first repeat outright champion since John Isner in 2005 and 2006.
Smith and Wagland won a pair of matches on Monday, first defeating Clemson's Robert Dudley and Luke Johnson 6-2, 6-1, then they topped Memphis' Louis Asser and Kevin Lemke 6-3, 6-2 in the final.
"Ben and Austin had a superb tournament," head coach Manuel Diaz said. "They got better each match, and that's one thing I value a lot. I think they are prepared for a big tournament next week, and same thing for Wayne. He got better each match and played some tremendous competition. I think our players benefited from all these matches, and I was pleased with the way our freshmen made it through Sunday's matches. We'll move forward now with great expectations and a good idea of the things we need to work on."
In the singles final, Montgomery was down two breaks early, but came back to win the first set 6-4. Konfederak then fell behind in the second set then rallied before Montgomery won the final two games to improve to 5-0 on the season.
"I started out slow, but managed to find my rhythm," Montgomery said. "I was able to keep my focus and play to my strengths."
In doubles, Wagland and Smith, who spent much of the 2015 spring season ranked No. 1 in the country, started their senior seasons with five wins in the last three days.
"I think both teams got off their semifinal matches pretty quick, so everyone was fresh going into the final," Wagland said. "We came out here firing and returned well and took care of our serves. I think that's where we had the upper hand in the final."
Other division winners in the tournament include Georgia Gwinnett's Lachlan McPhee (Division II singles), Georgia State's Felipe Jaworski (Division III singles), and Georgia Tech's Elijah Melendez and Daniel Yun (Division II doubles).
Montgomery, Smith and Wagland will be back in action in the inaugural Oracle/ITA Masters this weekend in Malibu, Calif.
Monday's Results
Division II Singles Final
Lachlan McPhee (Georgia Gwinnett) def. Christian Harris (Clemson), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(4)
Division I Doubles Semifinals
[1] Austin Smith/Ben Wagland (Georgia) def. Robert Dudley/Luke Johnson (Clemson), 6-2, 6-1
Louis Asser/Kai Lemke (Memphis) def. Ryan Peniston/Felix Rauch (Memphis), 6-3, 6-2
Division I Doubles Final
[1] Austin Smith/Ben Wagland (Georgia) def. Louis Asser/Kai Lemke (Memphis), 6-1, 6-2
Division I Singles Final
[1] Wayne Montgomery (Georgia) def. Kevin Konfederak (Georgia Gwinnett), 6-4, 6-3-----
