University of Georgia Athletics
University of Georgia
Mercer
Georgia Cruises Past Mercer, 6-1
February 27, 2018 | Men's Tennis
ATHENS, Ga. — The Georgia men's tennis team defeated Mercer 6-1 Tuesday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
The Bulldogs, 6-2 on the season, returned home to face in-state foe Mercer after a trip to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, which featured three top-12 matchups, including a 4-1 win over now No. 5 Columbia.
"Frankly, it was great to see our guys come through under pressure," head coach Manuel Diaz said. "I think this goes a long way to help. I thought (sophomore) Nathan (Ponwith) and (redshirt freshman) Alex (Diaz) had good chemistry and hopefully they can improve from here."
Junior Walker Duncan and senior Wayne Montgomery secured the first doubles victory, cruising to a 6-3 win on court two. Matches on court one and three proved to be more contentious, as Mercer broke serve at 5-5 to go up 6-5 in both matches. The Bears' No. 1 team of Sam Philp and Olivier Stuart held on to defeat sophomore Robert Loeb and junior Jan Zielinski, 7-5.
On court three, the tandem of Diaz and Ponwith battled back from down 3-1 to tie the match at 4-4. Down 6-5, Diaz and Ponwith forced a tiebreaker and won it with ease, 7-1, to clinch the doubles point.
Moving on to singles, Duncan and Zielinski won swiftly on courts four (6-2, 6-3) and five (6-1, 6-3), respectively, as each earned their 20th singles wins for the 2017-18 season. Loeb clinched the match on court six, winning 7-5, 6-4.
Soon thereafter, Ponwith sealed a 6-3, 6-4 victory on the No. 3 line. Junior Emil Reinberg finished out the Bulldogs' fifth singles win with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 decision before Montgomery fell to Philp 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.
Next up, the Bulldogs travel on Friday, March 2, to take on No. 15/13 Florida in the Southeastern Conference opener.
Tennis Match Results
Mercer vs Georgia
Feb 27, 2018 at Athens, Ga.
(Dan Magill Tennis Complex)
Georgia 6, Mercer 1
Singles Results
1. Sam Philp (MERCER) def. #11 Wayne Montgomery (UGA) 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
2. #40 Emil Reinberg (UGA) def. Olivier Stuart (MERCER) 7-6 (5), 6-3
3. #89 Nathan Ponwith (UGA) def. Nicolas Guillon (MERCER) 6-3, 6-4
4. #19 Walker Duncan (UGA) def. Fernando Guardia (MERCER) 6-2, 6-3
5. #28 Jan Zielinski (UGA) def. Stathis Tsiranidis (MERCER) 6-1, 6-3
6. Robert Loeb (UGA) def. Ruben Vanoppen (MERCER) 7-5, 6-4
Doubles Results
1. Sam Philp/Olivier Stuart (MERCER) def. #12 Robert Loeb/Jan Zielinski (UGA) 7-5
2. Walker Duncan/Wayne Montgomery (UGA) def. Ruben Vanoppen/Nicolas Guillon (MERCER) 6-3
3. Alex Diaz/Nathan Ponwith (UGA) def. Carver Arant/Stathis Tsiranidis (MERCER) 7-6 (1)
Match Notes:
Mercer 7-3
Georgia 6-2; National ranking #17
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (4,5,6,3,2,1)
Players Mentioned
