Arkansas Comes Back To Upset No. 14 Georgia
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas men’s tennis team came from behind Sunday afternoon to defeat the No. 14 Georgia Bulldogs 4-3.
Down 3-1, Arkansas swept the final three courts to knock off the Bulldogs for the first time since 2004, improving to 9-8 overall this season and 2-4 in the Southeastern Conference.
Arkansas fell behind early, dropping the doubles point with a 6-2 loss on court one and a 6-1 loss on court two. Georgia would push its lead to 2-0, as No. 21 Jan Zielinski defeated freshman Josh Howard-Tripp 6-4, 6-2 on court four. Freshman Alex Reco would get Arkansas on the board, defeating Alex Diaz 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), giving him a 9-4 record in dual matches this season, improving to 12-9 overall.
Georgia was able to stretch its lead back to two, as No. 24 Wayne Montgomery knocked off Adam Sanjurjo 6-4, 7-5 to go up 3-1.
Arkansas would stand strong on courts one, three and five, taking all three to the third set. No. 84 Jose Salazar control the final two sets at the top spot, defeating No. 47 Emil Reinberg 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. The Razorbacks were able to even the match at 3-3 with a 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 win on court five by Pedro Alonso, as the freshman defeated Robert Loeb.
It all came down to court three and junior Oscar Mesquida. After taking the first set 7-6 (11-9), Mesquida would fall 3-6 in the second set, bringing it all down to a decisive third set. Mesquida would go on to cruise 6-2 in the final set to give Arkansas the 4-3 win.
Arkansas 4, No. 14 Georgia 3
Singles competition – Order of finish (4,6,2,1,5,3)
1. #84 Jose Salazar (AR) def. #47 Emil Reinberg (UGA) 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
2. #24 Wayne Montgomery (UGA) def. Adam Sanjurjo (AR) 6-4, 7-5
3. Oscar Mesquida (AR) def. #81 Nathan Ponwith (UGA) 7-6 (11-9), 3-6, 6-2
4. #21 Jan Zielinski (UGA) def. Josh Howard-Tripp (AR) 6-4, 6-2
5. Pedro Alonso (AR) def. Robert Loeb (UGA) 2-6, 6-2, 7-5
6. Alex Reco (AR) def. Alex Diaz (UGA) 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)
Doubles competition – Order of finish (1,2)
1. Jan Zielinski/Walker Duncan (UGA) def. Jose Salazar/Josh Howard-Tripp (AR) 6-2
2. Wayne Montgomery/Nathan Ponwith (UGA) def. Oscar Mesquida/Adam Sanjurjo (AR) 6-1
3. Jose Alonso/Pedro Alonso (AR) vs. Robert Loeb/Alex Diaz (UGA) 3-2, unfinished
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