Some history was made as the Georgia men’s tennis team recorded an upset of No. 3 Ohio State in Athens on Sunday.
With the 4-0 victory, Georgia coach Manny Diaz became the winningest coach in SEC history with 707 wins.
In his 32 season at Georgia after following the legendary Dan Magill, Diaz has led Georgia to six national championships - four NCAA titles (1999, 2001, 2007 and 2008) and two ITA National Indoor titles (2006, 2007). He has guided the Bulldogs to 28 SEC titles (18 regular-season crowns and 10 tournament championships) during his tenure. His conference-leading victory Sunday moved him past Magill on the all-time wins list.
In doubles, the No. 36-ranked tandem of sophomore Trent Bryde and freshman Tyler Zink took down Ohio State’s No. 3 pair of John McNally and Robert Cash decisively, winning 6-1 to earn the first doubles win. The Georgia pair earned its highest-ranked doubles win to date and moved to 7-1 in duals play.
The No. 22-ranked duo of sophomores Philip Henning and Blake Croyder earned the clinching point by downing OSU’s James Trotter/Justin Boulais 6-3.
In singles, the Bulldogs extended five of the six matches to third sets. Croyder, ranked No. 95 nationally, notched the first singles win of the afternoon over No. 70 James Trotter by a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 final. Croyder extended his streak to 15 wins in dual matches dating back to last season.
Fellow sophomore Trent Bryde, ranked No. 22 in the country, followed up with a 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 victory over No. 12 Cannon Kingsley and earned his fifth-straight win, which includes ranked victories over the No. 2 (Ito/Texas), No. 12 (Kingsley/OSU) and No. 23 (Walton/Tenn) individuals.
“Hats off to our guys for a great team effort,” Diaz said. “The atmosphere we had out here was unique. This is why kids want to come play at Georgia. Yes, there’s great tradition but, more than anything, [Georgia has] the best fans in the nation.”
About the Author
