University of Georgia Athletics
NCAA Notes: Business As Usual
May 13, 2017 | Men's Tennis
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
Robert Loeb was quietly going about his business on court 6 Saturday afternoon at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. That's what the Georgia men's tennis freshman does, over and over he rather quietly gets results.
In 13th-seeded Georgia's 4-1 win over No. 22-ranked South Florida in the second round of the NCAA men's tennis tournament, Loeb picked up a confident and comfortable 6-3, 6-4 win over Jakub Wojcik, mixing in some some big winners with efficient play that forced his opponent into mistakes.
Loeb's win put the Bulldogs (20-7) up 3-1, and the spot in next week's NCAA round of 16 was clinched soon after by Wayne Montgomery at No. 2 singles. Loeb is 8-4 in his last 12 completed singles matches and went 7-3 against SEC competition, helping the Dogs share the conference regular-season title and win the SEC tournament.
"I knew this team was really good, so I just thought that I'd work really hard and try to prove myself everyday — and hopefully I've done that," said the mostly low-key Loeb, from Hilton Head, S.C.
Loeb hasn't shown the flair or flash this season that fellow freshman Nathan Ponwith has demonstrated while moving up to the No. 1 singles position in the second half of the season and earning SEC Freshman of the Year honors. But like Ponwith, Loeb was All-SEC and vital in the Bulldogs' surge since February.
Georgia has won 17 of its past 19 matches, with the only losses coming to NCAA tourney No. 1 overall seed Wake Forest (a 4-3 battle that came down to the final couple of games) and at Texas A&M, now the No. 12 seed, in the regular-season finale.
Also like Ponwith, Loeb plays in a No. 1 spot. He and sophomore Jan Zielinski are not only in the top spot for the Dogs' doubles lineup, they're the No. 1 doubles team in the ITA rankings. For them, All-America honors are already been secured, a remarkable achievement for two guys that haven't been playing together very long.
"I for sure didn't think Jan and I ... I thought we would be a good team together, but I don't know that we thought No. 1 was going to be possible," Loeb said. "Obviously we're there and I think it just gives us more motivation to want to win every match the rest of the year."
Said his partner, Zielinski: "He's matured on the court a lot; he's a much better player and, what can I say, he's playing better and better. I'm really proud of the work that he's done this season and he's just really focused during every game, every point."
Georgia coach Manuel Diaz said Loeb's success in doubles is doubtless helping fuel his singles performances.
"I think confidence-wise there's no doubt that the doubles component has made him a more comfortable player," Diaz said.
Loeb's play in doubles has been one of the surprises of the season, Diaz said.
"To be honest with you, I didn't know he was this good a doubles player. [laughs] I think a lot of it is the chemistry with Jan and a lot of it is the fact that they communicate well together and almost don't need to say anything to each other," Diaz said. "I think Robert has really learned a lot from Jan and his instincts around the net. To be honest, I didn't know he was that good a volleyer either."
Now he knows, as we all do. Loeb and the Bulldogs return to action in the round of 16 Thursday at 4 p.m., against No. 4-seeded USC.
The Final Match?
When the fifth-seeded Georgia women opened their NCAA tournament Saturday by beating South Carolina State, 4-0, the Lady Bulldogs (19-5) advanced to a second-round matchup Sunday against N.C. State — and many, many more big matches to come, either this season or next and beyond.
Not so for the other set of Lady Bulldogs. Saturday's first-round match was it, for now at least, for the S.C. State program.
Five weeks ago, the university's acting athletics director, Doug Robertson, announced that the women's tennis program will be suspended for the 2017-18 season, "as part of the department's ongoing efforts to control operational expenses," per the school's news release.
After the announcement, coach Hardeep Judge's Lady Bulldogs (9-11), who started the season 2-6, went on to win their 12th Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship in the past 13 seasons. It has been a difficult spring, Judge said, but he has many reasons to be proud.
"The girls really turned it around, found some grit somewhere and ended up winning the conference," Judge said. "It's been tough the last few weeks, really tough on them."
Georgia coach Jeff Wallace said he and the team talked about S.C. State's situation briefly leading up to the match. You feel for them and hope for the best for their program, Wallace said, but "it's the NCAA tournament and you've got to keep it about what we're trying to accomplish. ...
"It makes you sad, but there's not much you can do about it."
No Rust Visible
The last time the Georgia women played a match before Saturday was in April, and not quite even late April. The Lady Dogs' hadn't played since getting knocked out in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament on April 21 — a disappointing result that the team had to live for 22 days.
It was a demanding and productive three weeks, said senior Caroline Brinson, who won her match 6-0, 6-0, at No. 4 singles.
"This year out of my four years has been the longest break between SECs and NCAAs, and we made it a mission after the SEC tournament to really focus and hone in on practices these last few weeks, because that's important — that sets you up for what you're going to do in the NCAAs," she said. "We've been playing a lot, playing a lot of matches; we'd do a few days of drilling and working on other things, but we've been playing a ton.
"We played three-out-of-five sets a few days, really just working on match play and staying in that zone."
Georgia will try to get back in the zone today against the Wolfpack and join the Bulldogs in the round of 16 here next week.
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
