University of Georgia Athletics
University of Georgia
#11 Baylor
Georgia’s Comeback Ends in 4-2 Heartbreaker to Baylor
January 26, 2019 | Men's Tennis
ANN ARBOR, Michigan— The No. 12-ranked Georgia men's tennis team saw its comeback effort fall short in a 4-2 loss to No. 11 Baylor on Saturday at the 2019 ITA Kick-Off.
Georgia found itself down 3-0 in the match, before seniors Emil Reinberg and Jan Zielinski won at the top two singles courts. Freshman Philip Henning and junior Robert Loeb were each locked in three-set battles at the time, but Henning fell to Matias Soto, 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 to put the final tally at 4-2 in Baylor's favor.
The Bulldogs will now play NC State in the consolation match at 10 a.m. ET Sunday inside the Varsity Tennis Center on the University of Michigan campus.
"That was just a fantastic match," head coach Manuel Diaz said. "Our guys are hurting physically and are heartbroken to lose such a close one. The difference today was literally just a couple of points here and there, and I could not be prouder of these guys or more optimistic about the future of Georgia tennis than I am right now. We have a great group of players who gave it all they had. It's a short turnaround tomorrow with a 10 a.m. match, so we need to focus on recovery and get ready to play a very good team."
Baylor took the doubles point thanks to two 6-3 wins at courts one and two. Georgia's top duo of Loeb and Zielsinski could not withstand a break at 4-3 as Baylor's Roy Smith and Sven Lah clinched the doubles point. This came after Walker Duncan and Henning fell, 6-3, at No. 2 in a back-and-forth contest.
Baylor and Georgia then split first sets on the singles courts, with the Bulldogs winning at courts 1, 2 and 3, while the Bears were victorious at 4, 5 and 6.
Lah put his team up 2-0 over Georgia with a commanding 6-2, 6-2 win against Duncan at the fifth singles spot. The Bulldogs were in a fight at court No. 6, where Croyder lost in two tiebreakers, 7-6 (10), 7-6 (2) to extend Baylor's lead to 3-0.
Still, Georgia was down but not out with each of the top four courts all in the third set. Georgia's second-ranked Zielinski battled past Johannes Schretter, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 to give the Bulldogs their first score of the day.
Reinberg then ousted Roy Smith, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, before Henning dropped his match at court No. 4.
Following Sunday's contest against NC State, the Bulldogs return to Athens to host Georgia Tech on Sunday, Feb. 3 at 1 p.m. ET.
2019 ITA Kick-Off Results
Match 1 / #11 Georgia vs. #12 Baylor
Doubles
1. Roy Smith/Sven Lah (Baylor) def. #51 Robert Loeb/Jan Zielinski (Georgia), 6-3
2. Johannes Schretter/Jimmy Bendeck (Baylor) def. Walker Duncan/Philip Henning (Georgia), 6-3
3. Alex Diaz/Emil Reinberg (Georgia) vs. Will Little/Constantin Frantzen (Baylor), 6-5, uf
Order of finish (2,1)
Singles
1. #15 Emil Reinberg (Georgia) def. Roy Smith (Baylor), 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
2. #2 Jan Zielinski (Georgia) def. #33 Johannes Schretter (Baylor), 6-1, 3-6, 6-3
3. Robert Loeb (Georgia) vs. #17 Will Little (Baylor), 6-2, 2-6, 6-6
4. Matias Soto (Baylor) def. Philip Henning (Georgia), 7-5, 2-6, 6-2
5. Sven Lah (Baylor) def. Walker Duncan (Georgia), 6-2, 6-2
6. #105 Constantin Frantzen (Baylor) def. Blake Croyder (Georgia), 7-6 (10), 7-6 (2)
Order of finish (5,6,2,1,4)
Players Mentioned
