University of Georgia Athletics
University of Georgia
Kentucky
Georgia Set for Weekend Road Trip
April 11, 2019 | Men's Tennis
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ATHENS, Ga. — The No. 17-ranked Georgia men's tennis team closes the 2019 Southeastern Conference regular season slate with a pair of road contests at No. 43 Kentucky on Friday and at No. 30 Vanderbilt on Sunday.
The Bulldogs enter the final weekend of SEC play having won four-straight matches. Georgia is 11-8 overall, 6-4 in league action and is currently in fourth place in the conference standings. This will be the final tuneup before traveling to Gainesville, Florida next week for the 2019 SEC Tournament.
"We are definitely going to be tested with Kentucky and Vanderbilt both playing well right now," head coach Manuel Diaz said. "Those teams are very, very good at home, and we have not played as well as we want on the road. We've got some young guys, and we are going to need our seniors to step up and we also need strong play throughout the lineup, whether it's doubles or other guys in singles. We have a whole team that needs to come together here on the road and help us have a successful weekend."
Georgia and Kentucky are set to square off at 5 p.m. ET at the Boone Tennis Center on Friday. The Wildcats are 13-12 overall and 4-6 in SEC action this season. Ryotaro Matsumura leads his team with a No. 51 national ranking and an 11-9 mark in dual-match play.
Following the Kentucky match, Georgia makes the short trip down to Nashville to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores at 1 p.m. ET/noon CT at the Currey Tennis Center. The Commodores are 14-8 overall this year. Cameron Klinger paces the Commodores with an 8-8 record at the No. 1 singles court.
Jan Zielinski leads the Bulldogs this season with a 28-11 singles mark and an 18-9 record in doubles. Zielinski is currently ranked No. 15 nationally and teams with Robert Loeb for a No. 14 ranking in doubles. The Warsaw, Poland native has won four matches in a row and six of his last seven contests entering the weekend.
Georgia's lineup has also featured a trio of talented freshmen, with Trent Bryde, Philip Henning and Blake Croyder. The three rookies have combined to win 11 singles matches, while putting together nine doubles triumphs against SEC opponents this season.
Diaz enters Friday's contest with 697 career victories, just nine shy of Dan Magill's Georgia and SEC record of 706 career wins.
Players Mentioned
