University of Georgia Athletics
Freshmen Push Dogs Past Gators
April 08, 2016 | Men's Tennis
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
Running to his right, Jan Zielinski whipped a forehand cross-court passing shot for a winner. Then came a scream that echoed throughout the Dan Magill Tennis Complex and beyond.
It was more than just a wicked winner beyond the reach of Florida's Chase Perez-Blanco at the net. It won Zielinski the match, an exclamation point on a big come-from-behind win for the Georgia freshman, and it clinched the seventh-ranked Bulldogs' 5-2 win over the No. 14 Gators.
After dropping the first set — a common occurrence for the Bulldogs (15-3, 9-0 SEC) on Friday — Zielinski survived three second-set match points for Perez-Blanco to force a third set. He fought, he persistent and he prevailed, just like the Bulldogs.
"What can I say? I made it and I won," Zielinski said.
Florida (12-5, 7-2) came out strong and won the doubles point, and then took the first set in four of the six singles matches. If the Bulldogs were going to remain undefeated and atop the SEC standings, where the Gators were nipping at their heels, they would have to rally to do so. They did.
Senior Nick Wood quickly took care of business at No. 6 singles, dropping only four games. Then sophomore Paul Oosterbaan put Georgia in front, 2-1, with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 3. Soon after, Florida tied the match when Diego Hidalgo closed out Georgia's Austin Smith, 6-4, 6-4, at No. 1 singles.
At that point Georgia was going to need three-set success from two of the three remaining matches for the Dogs' 11 straight win: Zielinski at No. 5, fellow freshman Walker Duncan at No. 4 or sophomore Wayne Montgomery at No. 2 singles. They won all three.
"We lost four first sets after losing that doubles point [and] that usually does the trick," coach Manuel Diaz said. "Our guys, they have bought into the culture that we're just tough and we're going to fight. That's part of what makes a great team.
"We had a good number of lettermen here and they made a lot of our former players, a lot of lettermen, proud."
Duncan and Zielinski both dropped their opening sets 6-3, while Montgomery was, in his words, getting "crushed" in his opening set, dropping the first five games to Florida's Alfredo Perez before losing 6-2.
Funny thing about sports though, especially tennis, is that things do change. Often very quickly. A bad first set in singles isn't good, of course, but there's still time to turn things around — if you're willing to keep grinding and dig deep, both physically and mentally.
Duncan, Zielinski and Montgomery did just that. All three mounted feisty rallies, in front of a large, feisty crowd. Between the intense tennis and the atmosphere, Friday's match felt like the postseason had already begun.
After dropping his opening set to Gordon Watson, Duncan came alive.
"Going into the second set, [associate head coach Bo Hodge] and I were talking and I needed to step up my intensity a little bit and make some more balls and put the pressure on [Watson]," Duncan said.
He did, rolling through the second set, 6-1. But then Watson got an early break in the third and led 2-0. Duncan eventually broke back on a backhand cross-court winner on break point to draw even at 3-all. Duncan won four of the final five games in the set to complete a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 win.
"I stayed true, stayed tough and that's what matters in the end," he said. "That's what all of us did."
On a day (and night) of impressive comebacks, Zielinski's was probably the most impressive because he fought off the three match points in the second set, two on his own serve and one at 40-all with Perez-Blanco serving for the match up 5-4.
"I was just thinking about next point, next point, next point," he said.
After trailing 5-3 in the second set, Zielinski wound up winning four straight games to take the set and force a third. He then got an early break and led 3-0 in the third before Perez-Blanco answered with three straight games to draw even. At 4-all, Zielinski held serve, putting pressure on Perez-Blanco to hold to stay in the match.
Zielinski wasn't budging, winning the first three points and then sealing the victory, for himself and the Bulldogs, with the running forehand winner.
"It's a great feeling to clinch the match against Florida, such a big team and such a great team," he said. "I'm really happy that I could help my team today after a pretty bad doubles. I'm really happy."
In the end, with Georgia's victory already in hand, Montgomery's 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 win was just the cherry on top. But it was a meaningful one for him. Over the final two sets he played with as much fire and emotion as he ever has, almost willing himself to success.
"That definitely helped, letting things out at times," he said.
Diaz was certainly impressed with what he saw from Montgomery.
"He was very angry at himself for just not being able to execute as well as he wanted to that first set, so for him to bring it up another notch, take it up another notch, he had to risk and played big tennis there to finish," Diaz said. "He was hitting the ball clean, harder than he has all year — that's a statement for him."
Four of Georgia's five wins came from freshmen and sophomores. Another freshman, Emil Reinberg, teamed with Montgomery to win a tiebreaker at No. 3 doubles. This is a young team that's still maturing and still improving, and showing a lot of fight and composure in the big moments.
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
