University of Georgia Athletics
Friday, March 23
Baton Rouge, LA
6:00 P.M. ET
University of Georgia
at
LSU
Georgia Heads to LSU Friday, Returns Home for Tennessee Sunday
March 22, 2018 | Men's Tennis
ATHENS, Ga. – The 14th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs will split action between Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Athens this weekend, traveling to face the LSU Tigers on Friday before playing host to the Tennessee Volunteers on Sunday.
The Georgia-LSU matchup will be on Friday at 6 p.m. ET, before the Bulldogs return to the Dan Magill Tennis Complex for Sunday's matinee with No. 25 Tennessee at 1 p.m. ET.
Georgia has taken on nine ranked opponents in the last 10 matches, including four in the top-10. Last week, the Bulldogs topped Ole Miss 5-2 before dropping a battle in Fayetteville, Arkansas, 4-3 on Sunday.
The Tigers have garnered an 8-8 record on the season under LSU's first-year father-son head coach duo, Andy Brandi and Chris Brandi. A win on Friday would be the Bulldogs' 18th consecutive victory in the series. The 25th-ranked Volunteers have put together a solid 2018 campaign, with a 4-1 clip in conference play thus far.
Live streaming/scoring will be available for Sunday's match: http://gado.gs./8dx. Admission is free at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
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THE COMMON DOUBLES DENOMINATORS
After teaming with Paul Oosterbaan on the second court his freshman year and posting a 19-9 record, junior Jan Zielinski has remained on the first doubles court the past two years. Thanks to Robert Loeb, Zielinski's doubles counterpart, the 2017 season ended in All-American fashion, and with 38 doubles wins in a single season, Zielinski matched John Isner at third in the Georgia record books. After a slow start with Loeb in 2018, the first doubles court now features Zielinski at No. 1 with Walker Duncan who formerly paired with senior Wayne Montgomery. Zielinski is now ranked in the top-25 on two different doubles teams, one with Loeb and the other with Duncan. Montgomery, who has notched 83 doubles wins in his four-year career at Georgia across the second and third courts, is now joined by sophomore Nathan Ponwith. The tandem has provided two clinching matches in doubles since their pairing.
CONSISTENCY KEY FOR LOWER GEORGIA COURTS
The fourth, fifth and singles courts have combined for a 25-8 clip on the dual play season. The three courts have featured six different Bulldogs. The mainstays include Walker Duncan, Jan Zielinski and Robert Loeb. Zielinski and Duncan lead the charge with respective 11 and seven wins, each dropping only one match apiece. The lower courts have also clinched all but one match this season: Zielinski and Loeb have each closed out three matches apiece, with the previous trio of clinching contests all coming from Loeb.
GEORGIA FLEXES DEPTH IN DUAL PLAY
Seven different Bulldogs have posted wins in singles this year, with three different Georgia players taking turns on the sixth court. Georgia is the only team in the ITA/Oracle Tennis Rankings to total six ranked singles players. Top-ranked Wake Forest and Texas A&M follow with five ranked players in the singles lineup.
GEORGIA AGAINST TOP-RANKED OPPONENTS
The Bulldogs responded to a two-loss weekend in SEC play by shutting out the second-ranked team in the country, Ohio State. The last time Georgia found success against a top-two team came in the 2016 NCAA Tournament, when the No. 7 Bulldogs blanked the second-ranked North Carolina Tarheels to advance to the Final Four. In regular season play, the Bulldogs' knockoff of Ohio State marks the highest-ranked opponent Georgia has topped since 2014, when the Buckeyes fell 4-3 as the No. 1 team in the country. That year, the Bulldogs were ranked No. 16 at the time –and beat the top squad in a five and a half hour match that was moved indoors due to high winds.
After Ohio State, Georgia continued its stint of top-ranked opponents with the No. 5 Texas A&M Aggies the following match. The dropped battle marked the first loss at home since the top-ranked University of Southern California Trojans bested the Bulldogs, 4-3, at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on February 1, 2015.
SHAKEUP PRODUCES RESULTS
Following two dropped matches to open SEC play, Georgia switched up the doubles and singles lineups against No. 2 Ohio State. Walker Duncan moved from his second doubles spot to the first, joining Jan Zielinski for the first time since fall of 2016 to shut out the seventh-ranked team in the nation. The pair finished the fall slate with an 8-1 record, highlighted by a doubles tournament win at the 2016 Southern Intercollegiates in Athens. Nathan Ponwith also shifted from the third to the second doubles courts, teaming with Wayne Montgomery to clinch the doubles point for the Bulldogs. On the third, Alex Diaz and Robert Loeb played together for the first time and were tied at five when doubles play completed.
The Georgia-LSU matchup will be on Friday at 6 p.m. ET, before the Bulldogs return to the Dan Magill Tennis Complex for Sunday's matinee with No. 25 Tennessee at 1 p.m. ET.
Georgia has taken on nine ranked opponents in the last 10 matches, including four in the top-10. Last week, the Bulldogs topped Ole Miss 5-2 before dropping a battle in Fayetteville, Arkansas, 4-3 on Sunday.
The Tigers have garnered an 8-8 record on the season under LSU's first-year father-son head coach duo, Andy Brandi and Chris Brandi. A win on Friday would be the Bulldogs' 18th consecutive victory in the series. The 25th-ranked Volunteers have put together a solid 2018 campaign, with a 4-1 clip in conference play thus far.
Live streaming/scoring will be available for Sunday's match: http://gado.gs./8dx. Admission is free at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
-----
THE COMMON DOUBLES DENOMINATORS
After teaming with Paul Oosterbaan on the second court his freshman year and posting a 19-9 record, junior Jan Zielinski has remained on the first doubles court the past two years. Thanks to Robert Loeb, Zielinski's doubles counterpart, the 2017 season ended in All-American fashion, and with 38 doubles wins in a single season, Zielinski matched John Isner at third in the Georgia record books. After a slow start with Loeb in 2018, the first doubles court now features Zielinski at No. 1 with Walker Duncan who formerly paired with senior Wayne Montgomery. Zielinski is now ranked in the top-25 on two different doubles teams, one with Loeb and the other with Duncan. Montgomery, who has notched 83 doubles wins in his four-year career at Georgia across the second and third courts, is now joined by sophomore Nathan Ponwith. The tandem has provided two clinching matches in doubles since their pairing.
CONSISTENCY KEY FOR LOWER GEORGIA COURTS
The fourth, fifth and singles courts have combined for a 25-8 clip on the dual play season. The three courts have featured six different Bulldogs. The mainstays include Walker Duncan, Jan Zielinski and Robert Loeb. Zielinski and Duncan lead the charge with respective 11 and seven wins, each dropping only one match apiece. The lower courts have also clinched all but one match this season: Zielinski and Loeb have each closed out three matches apiece, with the previous trio of clinching contests all coming from Loeb.
GEORGIA FLEXES DEPTH IN DUAL PLAY
Seven different Bulldogs have posted wins in singles this year, with three different Georgia players taking turns on the sixth court. Georgia is the only team in the ITA/Oracle Tennis Rankings to total six ranked singles players. Top-ranked Wake Forest and Texas A&M follow with five ranked players in the singles lineup.
GEORGIA AGAINST TOP-RANKED OPPONENTS
The Bulldogs responded to a two-loss weekend in SEC play by shutting out the second-ranked team in the country, Ohio State. The last time Georgia found success against a top-two team came in the 2016 NCAA Tournament, when the No. 7 Bulldogs blanked the second-ranked North Carolina Tarheels to advance to the Final Four. In regular season play, the Bulldogs' knockoff of Ohio State marks the highest-ranked opponent Georgia has topped since 2014, when the Buckeyes fell 4-3 as the No. 1 team in the country. That year, the Bulldogs were ranked No. 16 at the time –and beat the top squad in a five and a half hour match that was moved indoors due to high winds.
After Ohio State, Georgia continued its stint of top-ranked opponents with the No. 5 Texas A&M Aggies the following match. The dropped battle marked the first loss at home since the top-ranked University of Southern California Trojans bested the Bulldogs, 4-3, at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on February 1, 2015.
SHAKEUP PRODUCES RESULTS
Following two dropped matches to open SEC play, Georgia switched up the doubles and singles lineups against No. 2 Ohio State. Walker Duncan moved from his second doubles spot to the first, joining Jan Zielinski for the first time since fall of 2016 to shut out the seventh-ranked team in the nation. The pair finished the fall slate with an 8-1 record, highlighted by a doubles tournament win at the 2016 Southern Intercollegiates in Athens. Nathan Ponwith also shifted from the third to the second doubles courts, teaming with Wayne Montgomery to clinch the doubles point for the Bulldogs. On the third, Alex Diaz and Robert Loeb played together for the first time and were tied at five when doubles play completed.
Players Mentioned
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