Strong Singles Play Leads No. 3 Tennessee Past Georgia, 4-1, into NCAA Semis

Thursday, May 20

Orlando, FL

11 AM

University of Tennessee

Georgia

Strong Singles Play Leads No. 3 Tennessee Past Georgia, 4-1, into NCAA Semis

May 20, 2021 | Men's Tennis

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ORLANDO, Fla. – After dropping the doubles point for the first time in six weeks, the No. 3 Tennessee men's tennis team used four punishing singles victories to rally past No. 11 Georgia, 4-1, to advance to the NCAA semifinals for the first time since 2010 on Thursday at the USTA National Campus.

The win was the Vols (28-3) second over Georgia (17-7) this season, marking just the sixth time the Vols have downed the Bulldogs multiple times in the same dual season in program history.

UGA earned the match's opening point after earning a pair of quick victories on courts two and three. Despite not claiming the doubles point, the Vols Australian duo of senior Adam Walton and junior Pat Harper earned their third doubles victory of the NCAA Tournament, downing No. 7 Trent Bryde and Tyler Zink, 6-3, on court one.

In singles play, the sides split the six opening sets, earning three apiece.

With things trending in the direction of the Bulldogs, Walton took down No. 15 Bryde, 6-4, 6-4 to even the score at 1-1.

With the contest tied, the Vols grabbed a trio of victories from freshman Johannus Monday, senior Andrew Rogers and graduate student Luca Wiedenmann in quick succession to clinch match point at, 4-1.

Monday gave the Vols their first lead of the match, as he battled past Tyler Zink, 7-6(3), 6-4 in straight-sets, earning his first singles victory since the SEC Championship match.

Minutes later, Rogers knocked off Erik Grevelius, 6-3, 7-5 to put UT on the brink of clinching match point. Rogers rallied after falling behind 5-2 in the second set, winning the final five games and breaking Grevelius' serve two consecutive times.

Seconds after Rogers, Wiedenmann finished off his come-from-behind three-set victory over Blake Croyder, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 to clinch the match and the Orange & White's spot in the NCAA semis.

THE RETURN OF MR. CLINCHER
Luca Wiedenmann's clinch on Thursday was the 20th clinch of his career and his first since the Vols 4-2 victory over No. 5 Texas on Feb. 14.

Out of his 20 clinches both his first and latest match clinching victories have come against SEC foe Georgia.

WALTS STAYS PERFECT IN NCAA TOURNAMENT
Adam Walton's pair of victories on Thursday, upped his overall NCAA Tournament record to 7-0, claiming a trio of doubles victories and a singles triumph in each of the Vols four contests, with three of those wins coming against ranked foes.

DOUBLES NOT THE DECIDER TODAY
Thursday marked the first time the Vols have dropped the doubles point this postseason and for just the sixth time overall in 2021.

The Vols are now 4-2 when dropping the doubles point claiming victories over Ole Miss, Auburn, LSU and Georgia.

UP NEXT
The Vols will remain in Orlando for a Friday afternoon semifinal clash with the winner of Thursday's second quarterfinal between No. 2 Baylor and No. 7 TCU. First serve from the USTA National Campus is slated for 2 p.m. ET.

RESULTS
Doubles