Georgia Tops No. 20 Alabama, 4-1

Friday, March 29

Athens, GA

5 p.m.

University of Georgia

Alabama

March 29, 2019 | Men's Tennis

ATHENS, Ga. — A back-and-forth doubles point and singles victories from Blake Croyder, Jan Zielinski and Walker Duncan helped the 28th-ranked Georgia men's tennis team take down No. 20 Alabama, 4-1, Friday evening at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

Georgia, which has played a string of nine consecutive matches against ranked opponents, dispatched the Crimson Tide thanks to strong performances throughout the entire lineup.

"We were certainly challenged without Philip Henning in the lineup," head coach Manuel Diaz said. "We knew it was going to be a tough challenge, and we asked the guys to really come out with the same energy we came out in doubles against Mississippi State. I thought we played our best doubles. I couldn't be prouder. Our one and two teams just played incredible today."

With a little over 800 fans in attendance, an electric atmosphere created an exciting doubles point to lead things off.

It started at court No. 3, where freshmen Trent Bryde and Croyder played together for the first time in their careers. The rookie duo went up a break 2-0 to start, but the Alabama combo of Edson Ortiz and Riccardo Roberto battled back to win, 6-4.

On court No. 2, Georgia's tandem of Duncan and Emil Reinberg went up a break at 5-3, before witnessing another Alabama rally. Finally, the Bulldog duo broke its Alabama counterpart's bid to force a tiebreaker as Duncan and Reinberg won, 7-5.

That set up a thrilling contest at the top spot. There, Robert Loeb and Zielinski found themselves up 5-3, before the Tide forced a tiebreaker. In the deciding set, Georgia fell behind early — 3-1 — as a back-and-forth pace followed. The Bulldogs faced match point, but finally served to clinch the doubles courts with an 11-9 win.

Up 1-0, Georgia picked up the first two singles wins of the day as Zielinski defeated Mazen Osama, 6-2, 6-3 and Croyder ousted Jeremy Gschwendtner, 6-3, 6-2. It marked Croyder's first career victory against a SEC opponent.

"Coming off the bench, he was playing a guy that's undefeated in the conference and 11-1 this year, and Blake Croyder just comes out and plays incredible," Diaz added. " I am so very proud of our team for our effort and quality of play in those matches that we won. Walker Duncan, really been waiting to see him come through. I thought mentally he was the best he's been all year."

The Bulldogs looked to be in control with Duncan cruising at court. No. 5. He was serving up 4-3, but his Alabama opponent broke to even the second set at 4-4. The Bulldog senior finally broke through to clinch the contest with a 7-6 (3), 7-5 win.

Georgia now returns home to host Auburn at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Following that match, Georgia hosts Kennesaw State at 5 p.m.

For more information on the Georgia men's tennis team, follow the Bulldogs on Twitter (@UGAtennis) and Instagram (@ugatennis).

Tennis Match Results
Alabama vs Georgia
March 29, 2019 at Athens, Ga.
(Dan Magill Tennis Complex)

#28 Georgia 4, #20 Alabama 1

1. #13 Jan Zielinski (UGA) def. #39 Mazen Osama (UA) 6-2, 6-3
2. #21 Emil Reinberg (UGA) vs. Edson Ortiz (UA) 5-7, 6-0, 2-4, unfinished
3. Patrick Kaukovalta (UA) def. Trent Bryde (UGA) 7-6 (7-5), 6-1
4. Robert Loeb (UGA) vs. Riccardo Roberto (UA) 5-7, 6-3, 1-4, unfinished
5. #78 Walker Duncan (UGA) def. Zhe Zhou (UA) 7-6 (7-3), 7-5
6. Blake Croyder (UGA) def. Jeremy Gschwendtner (UA) 6-3, 6-2

1. #47 Robert Loeb/Jan Zielinski (UGA) def. #15 Patrick Kaukovalta/Mazen Osama (UA) 7-6 (11-9)
2. Walker Duncan/Emil Reinberg (UGA) def. Alexey Nesterov/Zhe Zhou (UA) 7-5
3. Edson Ortiz/Riccardo Roberto (UA) def. Trent Bryde/Blake Croyder (UGA) 6-4

Match Notes:
Alabama 13-7, 3-5 SEC; National ranking #20
Georgia 8-8, 4-4 SEC; National ranking #28
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,6,3,5)

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