No. 20 Gamecocks Fall at No. 13 Georgia
April 9, 2017
ATHENS, GA. — South Carolina men’s tennis battled across the board, but couldn’t pull through as it fell to No. 13 Georgia 4-3 on Sunday at the Magill Tennis Complex. Junior Gabriel Friedrich (47) was impressive in the loss, posting a straight-set victory over No. 25 Wayne Montgomery on court two.
The Gamecocks fell behind 1-0 after doubles as Georgia earned wins in the No. 2 and 3 spots. Yancy Dennis and Harrison O’Keefe (31) would take down their highest ranked opponent yet with a 6-3 victory over Jan Zielinski and Robert Loeb (3). But the Bulldogs would take a win at No. 2, before Friedrich and Andrew Schafer fell in a tough 7-5 battle on court three to claim the doubles point.
Carolina started singles reenergized, splitting first sets with the Bulldogs. Friedrich came out firing, dominating his opponent on court two with a 6-2, 6-1 win. Freshman Paull Jubb would take his first loss of the season, falling to Robert Loeb 6-2, 6-1, giving Georgia a 2-1 lead.
The Gamecocks continued its strong effort as two of the remaining four matches went into third sets. But Walker Duncan edged out senior Alex Fennell on court five, 6-1, 6-4, to increase the Bulldog lead to 3-1. Nathan Ponwith (64) would clinch the match, with a 6-3, 6-4 triumph on court one.
The teams played out the remaining matches allowing Dennis to defeat Zielinkski 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 on court four and Schafer to take down No. 68 Emil Reinberg 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 on court two to make a 4-3 final score.
RESULTS
SINGLES (6, 2, 5, 1, 3, 4)
1. #64 Nathan Ponwith (UGA) def. #69 Harrison O’Keefe (SC) 6-3, 6-4
2. #47 Gabriel Friedrich (SC) def. #25 Wayne Montgomery (UGA) 6-2, 6-1
3. Andrew Schafer (SC) def. #68 Emil Reinberg (UGA) 6-2, 1-6, 6-3
4. Yancy Dennis (SC) def. Jan Zielinski (UGA) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
5. Walker Duncan (UGA) def. Alex Fennell (SC) 6-1, 6-4
6. Robert Loeb (UGA) def. Paul Jubb (SC) 6-2, 6-1
DOUBLES (1, 2, 3)
1. #31 Yancy Dennis/Harrison O’Keefe (SC) def. #3 Jan Zielinski/Robert Loeb (UGA) 6-3
2. #53 Nathan Ponwith/Emil Reinberg (UGA) def. Sam Swank/Alex Fennell (SC) 6-2
3. Wayne Montgomery/Walker Duncan (UGA) def. Gabriel Friedrich/Andrew Schafer (SC) 7-5
Up Next
The Gamecocks will return to Columbia, SC to host their final opponents of the season. South Carolina faces Auburn on April 14 and Mississippi St. on April 16. Prior to Friday’s match South Carolina will take a moment to recognize this season’s seniors. Admission and parking for all home tennis matches is free of charge. For more information on South Carolina men’s tennis, follow the team on Twitter and Instagram at gamecockmtennis or check in at GamecocksOnline.com.
