University of Georgia Athletics
A Grinding Win For The Bulldogs
February 07, 2016 | Men's Tennis
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
Sometimes a good grinder is just what you need.
Blowout wins are welcome, especially against your in-state rival, but in the long term they might not pay the dividends of a grind-it-out and figure-it-out win, which is what the Georgia men's tennis team produced against Georgia Tech on Saturday at the Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Courts
The No. 11-ranked Bulldogs were coming off a disappointing 6-1 loss to UCLA in Los Angeles last weekend. Georgia was in most of the matches it lost but couldn't grind out the points and games it needed to win, which is what the Bulldogs were able to do against Tech.
"Every single guy had to work their tail off and that's what we said in the locker room before: we've got to go out there and take care of business and focus on your court and the things that you can control," said sophomore Wayne Montgomery after Georgia improved to 62-9 all-time against the Yellow Jackets.
The No. 20-ranked Montgomery's match was the day's deluxe grinder, a three-set, come-from-behind win at No. 1 singles over Tech's towering Christopher Eubanks, ranked No. 6. Listed at 6-foot-7 (compared to Montgomery's 5-10), Eubanks' big serve and big groundstrokes were razor-sharp early.
In the fall, when Georgia hosted the Southern Intercollegiate Championships, Montgomery beat Eubanks, 7-6, 7-6, in the semifinals. That was a grinder, as well, but Montgomery said Eubanks was a slightly different player Saturday.
Almost in the blink of an eye Eubanks was up 3-0 in the first set and Montgomery had been overruled three times on calls by the chair umpire, earning a point penalty. To that point everything had gone against him, which seemed to be what got him going.
"He changed his technique on his serve and that kind of threw me off, to be honest," Montgomery said. "I couldn't read his serve too much and that's why he was just crushing serves. He got one break and I might have gotten a little bit unlucky with the line calls in the first few games."
Montgomery fought to hold serve in the next game, letting loose some screams and fist pumps after game point. He didn't magically rally to win the set, which Eubanks took 6-3, but the South African was able to sink his teeth into the match; and he was able to start figuring some things out.
"I think I just started to figure out his serve and started to read his serve pretty well at the end, and just started putting balls in play and forced him to make an error," he said.
Eubanks and Montgomery held serve through the first eight games of the second set, with the grinder from Georgia keeping points alive by scrambling and hustling for shots six feet behind the baseline. The longer the rally, it seemed, the better Montgomery's chances of winning the point.
As Montgomery and Eubanks were scrapping away at No. 1 singles, sophomore Paul Oosterbaan was in a battle at No. 4. The 6-7 Oosterbaan had won the first set against Cole Fiegel, 6-3. The second set was on serve until deuce on Oosterbaan's serve, trailing 4-5. Fiegel took the point and the set, 6-4, sending the match to a third.
Soon after, at No. 1, screams of "Come ON!!!" could be heard as Montgomery broke Eubanks' serve for the first time in the match, to go up 6-5 in the second set. Montgomery then held to take the second set.
While all that was going on, senior Austin Smith was grinding away at No. 2 singles. He wasn't playing his best tennis, but he managed to close out a tough match against Carlos Benito, 7-5, 6-4, tying the overall score at 1-1 after Tech had won the doubles point.
Soon after, at No. 3 singles, freshman Jan Zielinski, who joined the Bulldogs at the start of the semester, made it 2-1 Bulldogs. Zielinski got broken by Tech's Andrew Li midway through the first set and was down 4-2. He fought back, broke back and took the first set 7-6 (8-6). It was all Zielinski after that, rolling 6-1 in the second set.
The native of Warsaw, Poland, is still adjusting to collegiate tennis.
"It's completely different from playing on the pro tour [as an amateur]," he said. "You have to get used to it. You're playing for your team and not playing for just yourself. That's big stuff. I like it. I like playing for somebody and not just myself.
Montgomery and Eubanks were still trading body blows on No. 1, tied at 3-all in the third, when Oosterbaan took control at No. 4. Up a break at 4-3 and serving at deuce, blasted an ace out wide for a 5-3 lead. He closed out the match with another break, winning 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, and now the Dogs, who'd had to work like crazy to get there, were up 3-1.
"They came out and played well and it was definitely closer than the score," Oosterbaan said. "It's good to pull out these tough matches heading into next week [at the ITA Indoor National Championships], and I think we'll be better for it. ... This will definitely help in the long run, playing some tight matches."
Moments later, the pivotal moment arrived in the saga that was Montgomery versus Eubanks. Montgomery was serving at 3-all and deuce, a game point for Georgia and a critical break point for Tech. Eubanks missed the return and Montgomery was able to hold for 4-3.
Montgomery seized the match in the next game, whipping a forehand passing shot past Eubanks, maybe the shot of the match, and then on break point Eubanks missed a forehand long. After seeming overmatched and overwhelmed early, Montgomery was now going to serve for victory, both his and the Bulldogs'.
He held at love and celebrated like a young man that knew he'd just fought some obstacles and win. It was a 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 win for Montgomery and a 4-1 win for the Dogs.
"I love matches like these," Montgomery said. "I don't like matches where the guy just kind of rolls around. Matches like this, it's fun, the crowd gets into it and it's awesome. It's what college tennis is about."
The final score in the match was 6-1 after the teams kept the remaining singles matches going. At No. 5, Emil Reinberg beat Tech's Casey Kay 6-3, 6-3. At No. 6, Nick Wood made his return following a lengthy absence dating back to the fall due to a wrist injury. He routed Daniel Yun 6-2, 6-0.
Georgia is back in action next weekend at the ITA Indoor National Championships, in Charlottesville, Va.
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
Players Mentioned
