University of Georgia Athletics
Saturday, May 20
Athens, Ga.
4:00 PM
University of Georgia
4
vs
2
UCLA
Georgia Takes Down UCLA After Five-Hour Delay
May 21, 2017 | Men's Tennis
Head Coach Manuel Diaz and Walker Duncan talk about upsetting fifth-seeded UCLA after an almost 5 hour rain delay to advance to the Final Four.
May 21, 2017
ATHENS, Ga. -- A weather delay at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex delayed the NCAA Quarterfinal match between No. 12 Georgia and 5th-ranked UCLA for five hours, but the Bulldogs eventually prevailed, 4-2, to advance to the semifinals.
After dropping the doubles point, Georgia went into the delay down 1-0, but took a 2-1 lead less than fifteen minutes after play resumed. Wayne Montgomery was within two points of winning when play stopped and wasted no time sealing the victory, and Walker Duncan won a second-set tiebreaker shortly after to win his match. Jan Zielinski provided the clincher for the Bulldogs (22-7), who now advance to the NCAA Semifinals for the second-straight year, a feat they last accomplished by doing it six consecutive years from 2006 to 2011.
"Mighty proud of this bunch," said Georgia head coach Manuel Diaz. "They fought their hearts out and beat a very good team. We didn't play our very best at number two and three doubles and that got us in trouble, but they came out and really asserted themselves. Our number one team played well today, we just have to pick it up a little bit in doubles. The way we are competing in singles, we're playing really hard, and that gives us a chance. I am very proud of the way these guys believed in themselves and went out there and executed their game plans."
UGA Athletic Association personnel were all-hands-on-deck trying to get the courts dry in an effort to continue the match outdoors, and after several hours of drying, the teams had a brief warmup before resuming play. Robert Loeb provided the third singles win for Georgia with a 7-6(4), 6-2 win at No. 6 before Zielinski's clincher.
In doubles, Loeb and Zielinski struck first, notching another win against a top-five opponent. The freshman-sophomore duo - the nation's top-ranked pair - has now defeated all four top-five opponents it has faced this season, and will be the top seed in the NCAA Doubles Championship next week.
UCLA (22-7) took the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 3. Both courts showcased fairly evenly-played matches, but breaks for the Bruins earned them the edge and sealed the point.
Montgomery, who is now 10-2 since moving to the second court, is currently on a six-match win streak following his victory Saturday. The junior from Somerset West, South Africa is second on the team to only Duncan in wins in dual play, as Duncan earned his 20th win compared to just four losses in Georgia's 29 matches this season.
After winning his first set in a tiebreaker, Robert Loeb cruised to the win at No. 6. Loeb led 2-1 and was serving when play resumed, and only dropped one game on the way to winning the second set, 6-2. Zielinski bounced back from dropping his first set and was able to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 and seal the win.
Georgia will take on 9th-seeded North Carolina in the semifinals Monday at 12 p.m. The Tar Heels knocked off top-seeded Wake Forest after the delay on Saturday evening. The Tar Heels will represent Georgia's third-straight opponent that had defeated the Bulldogs earlier in the season, as North Carolina beat Georgia, 4-2, on February 17 at ITA National Indoors. The loss was part of a 3-5 start for the Bulldogs, who have now won 18 out of 20 matches since the end of that tournament.
FINAL: #12 GEORGIA (22-7) 4, #5 UCLA (22-6) 2
After dropping the doubles point, Georgia went into the delay down 1-0, but took a 2-1 lead less than fifteen minutes after play resumed. Wayne Montgomery was within two points of winning when play stopped and wasted no time sealing the victory, and Walker Duncan won a second-set tiebreaker shortly after to win his match. Jan Zielinski provided the clincher for the Bulldogs (22-7), who now advance to the NCAA Semifinals for the second-straight year, a feat they last accomplished by doing it six consecutive years from 2006 to 2011.
"Mighty proud of this bunch," said Georgia head coach Manuel Diaz. "They fought their hearts out and beat a very good team. We didn't play our very best at number two and three doubles and that got us in trouble, but they came out and really asserted themselves. Our number one team played well today, we just have to pick it up a little bit in doubles. The way we are competing in singles, we're playing really hard, and that gives us a chance. I am very proud of the way these guys believed in themselves and went out there and executed their game plans."
UGA Athletic Association personnel were all-hands-on-deck trying to get the courts dry in an effort to continue the match outdoors, and after several hours of drying, the teams had a brief warmup before resuming play. Robert Loeb provided the third singles win for Georgia with a 7-6(4), 6-2 win at No. 6 before Zielinski's clincher.
In doubles, Loeb and Zielinski struck first, notching another win against a top-five opponent. The freshman-sophomore duo - the nation's top-ranked pair - has now defeated all four top-five opponents it has faced this season, and will be the top seed in the NCAA Doubles Championship next week.
UCLA (22-7) took the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 3. Both courts showcased fairly evenly-played matches, but breaks for the Bruins earned them the edge and sealed the point.
Montgomery, who is now 10-2 since moving to the second court, is currently on a six-match win streak following his victory Saturday. The junior from Somerset West, South Africa is second on the team to only Duncan in wins in dual play, as Duncan earned his 20th win compared to just four losses in Georgia's 29 matches this season.
After winning his first set in a tiebreaker, Robert Loeb cruised to the win at No. 6. Loeb led 2-1 and was serving when play resumed, and only dropped one game on the way to winning the second set, 6-2. Zielinski bounced back from dropping his first set and was able to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 and seal the win.
Georgia will take on 9th-seeded North Carolina in the semifinals Monday at 12 p.m. The Tar Heels knocked off top-seeded Wake Forest after the delay on Saturday evening. The Tar Heels will represent Georgia's third-straight opponent that had defeated the Bulldogs earlier in the season, as North Carolina beat Georgia, 4-2, on February 17 at ITA National Indoors. The loss was part of a 3-5 start for the Bulldogs, who have now won 18 out of 20 matches since the end of that tournament.
FINAL: #12 GEORGIA (22-7) 4, #5 UCLA (22-6) 2
NCAA Quarterfinals
Doubles
Doubles
1. #1 Jan Zielinski/Robert Loeb (GEORGIA) def. #3 Martin Redlicki/ Evan Zhu (UCLA), 6-3
2. Austin Rapp/Joseph DiGiulio (UCLA) def. Emil Reinberg/ Nathan Ponwith (GEORGIA), 6-3
1. #60 Martin Redlicki (UCLA) def. #56 Nathan Ponwith (GEORGIA), 6-4, 1-6, 6-2
2. #33 Wayne Montgomery (GEORGIA) def. Evan Zhu (UCLA), 6-3, 6-4
3. Logan Staggs (UCLA) vs. #59 Emil Reinberg (GEORGIA), 7-6 (3), 5-6, unf.
4. Jan Zielinski (GEORGIA) def. Maxime Cressy (UCLA), 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
5. Walker Duncan (GEORGIA) def. Austin Rapp (UCLA), 6-3, 7-6 (2)
6. Robert Loeb (GEORGIA) def. Joseph DiGiulio (UCLA), 7-6 (4), 6-2
Order of Finish: Doubles (1,2,3) Singles (2,5,1,6,4)
Order of Finish: Doubles (1,2,3) Singles (2,5,1,6,4)
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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