University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
#14 Georgia
Vols Come Back to Beat No. 14 Georgia, 4-3
March 25, 2018 | Men's Tennis
ATHENS, Ga. -- Sophomore Scott Jones held off four match points on Court 5 and fellow sophomore Luca Wiedenmann won in three sets on Court 6 to clinch a 4-3 road victory for No. 25 Tennessee over No. 14 Georgia on Sunday at the Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Courts.
After 15th ranked Wayne Montgomery gave the Bulldogs (9-7, 2-5 SEC) a 3-2 lead on Court 2, Jones held off Robert Loeb at 4-5 in the third set and grinded out a 7-5 win. The victory marks the first time the Vols (16-5, 5-2 SEC) have beaten Georgia since 2011 and the fourth time they have won in Athens since 1990.
Georgia took the doubles point with wins of 6-4 and 6-1 on Courts 3 and 2. Freshman Adam Walton evened the scoreboard for the Vols at No. 4 with a 6-3, 6-0 win over 21st ranked Jan Zielinski. The Bulldogs then reclaimed the lead on Court 3, but the No. 16 player in the nation, Timo Stodder, took down 55th ranked Emil Reinberg in three sets on Court 1 to tie it at 2-2.
After Luis Valero fell to 15th ranked Montgomery at No. 2, the Vols had to come up big in the two remaining matches. With Jones deep in the third set, it appeared to be all but over as he faced a 0-40 hole down 4-5. However, the sophomore clawed his way back and held perhaps the biggest service game of his career to knot the set at 5-5. With the momentum swung his way, Jones finished off Loeb 7-5 to force a decider on Court 6 between Wiedenmann and Alex Phillips.
In the third set, Wiedenmann shot ahead 3-1 but Phillips answered by reeling off a pair of games to tie it at 3-3. With the pressure mounting, the UT sophomore from Munich, Germany came through in the clutch by winning three straight games and claiming the third set, 6-3.
It is the Vols' second win over a top 25 opponent this season and the fifth time they have beaten a ranked foe.
For Walton, defeating a ranked opponent in singles and seeing his team earn a key road win is an indicator of the work put in away from the matches.
"The feeling of winning on the road in Georgia is unreal," Walton said. "I played at a very high level in singles and the results are starting to show from all the hard work we have been doing off court."
"I'm proud of the guys," head coach Chris Woodruff said after the match. "When you buy in and you believe, it's a good recipe for success. I hope they can take this and use it for the rest of the season going forward. It's a huge win."
#25 Tennessee 4, #14 Georgia 3
Singles
1. #16 Timo Stodder (UT) def. #55 Emil Reinberg (UGA) 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
2. #15 Wayne Montgomery (UGA) def. Luis Valero (UT) 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
3. #97 Nathan Ponwith (UGA) def. Preston Touliatos (UT) 6-1, 6-3
4. Adam Walton (UT) def. #21 Jan Zielinski (UGA) 6-3, 6-0
5. Scott Jones (UT) def. Robert Loeb (UGA) 6-1, 2-6, 7-5
6. Luca Wiedenmann (UT) def. Alex Phillips (UGA) 6-0, 2-6, 6-3
Doubles
1. #10 Loeb/Zielinski (UGA) vs. #15 Touliatos/Valero (UT) 4-4, unfinished
2. Montgomery/Ponwith (UGA) def. Jones/Rogers (UT) 6-1
3. Reinberg/Diaz (UGA) def. Stodder/Walton (UT) 6-4
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (4,3,1,2,5,6)
Players Mentioned
