University of Memphis Athletics
Sunday, January 24
Athens, GA
5:00 pm (ET)
University of Memphis
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at
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#6 Georgia
Photo by: Joe Murphy
Men’s Tennis Tangles With #6 Georgia
Jan 24, 2016 | Men's Tennis
Falls Short 4-1 with Trio of Three-Setters
ATHENS, GA. – The University of Memphis men's tennis team comes out of its first three matches of the season with a deceiving 1-2 overall record. Of the team's first three matches, all three have been against ranked opponents. On Sunday, the Tigers went to number six ranked Georgia's home courts and pushed the Bulldogs to three sets in a trio of matches atop the lineup, claiming the win in the other completed match in a 4-1 loss that took three hours and 18 minutes to finish. Sophomore Ryan Peniston took down number 20 ranked Wayne Montgomery for Memphis' lone singles point.
"That was a serious college tennis match," Head Coach Paul Goebel said. "That was a level up from our Oklahoma State match and I thought we played really well in that one. It's tough, because we had a lot of positives and we were so close. It was a huge opportunity and you don't get a chance to go in to number six in the country and have a chance at the win that often."
The battle began right away in doubles. The Memphis tandem of Louis Asser and Kai Lemke were facing their second top 10 ranked doubles opponent in three matches, falling 6-2 to the No. 10 ranked team of Austin Smith and Ben Wagland. The duo is now 0-3 on the year at No. 1, but has faced the number nine, 10 and 57 ranked teams in the country to start the spring.
The team of Ryan Peniston and Felix Rauch improved to 2-1 on the year with a 6-2 win at No. 2 and all eyes moved to the match at number three, where the Memphis pairing of Andrew Watson and Shakeel Manji were facing No. 45 ranked Emil Reinberg and Wayne Montgomery. That doubles match, which determined the fate of the team point for doubles, went the way of the home team, 7-5, and started Memphis down 1-0 in singles play.
And then the singles slug-it-out matches began. Freshman Chris Patzanovsky jumped out to quick lead over number 105 ranked Walker Duncan at number four and held on for a 6-4 first set win. Meanwhile, teammates Andrew Watson (7-5) and Ryan Peniston (6-4) were also grabbing first set victories against ranked opponents. Kai Lemke was the lone Tiger to drop his first set, falling 6-4, but battled back to win a tiebreak in the second set to force a third.
While Lemke was in his tiebreak, teammates Watson and Peniston were also in breakers on adjacent courts, and Patzanovsky fell, 6-3, in the third set to see Georgia go up 2-0 in the match. Watson dropped his second set breaker, 7-6, and Peniston and number 20 ranked Wayne Montgomery went all the way to 12-10 in the tiebreak before Peniston put away the win, grabbing his 15th win of the year and his second straight in dual season play. The win over the ranked opponent improved the sophomore to 3-1 on the year against ranked foes and pushed his record to 9-1 in his last 10 matches.
With the score favoring Georgia, 2-1, number 40 ranked Paul Oosterbaan bounced back from his tiebreak loss to Lemke to take the third set, 6-3, at number three, giving Georgia a 3-1 lead. As the matches at five and six singles came on due to the split sets and the Peniston win, Watson was looking to get Memphis within a point at 3-2 down and was tied at 5-all in the third set. But Smith got the upper hand late, taking the third, 7-5, and sealing the win 4-1 for Georgia.
"We've just got to seal the deal," Goebel said. "But that was a fun match to play in. I really feel like it's better to play in that environment against that level of competition. That's why we schedule the way we do. Their fans were really in to it and they were really complimentary of the great tennis post match. That was fun, really fun, but really tough to take right now too."
With the match decided, the remaining matches at five and six were abandoned.
Memphis returns home for a pair of regional match-ups on Friday. The Tigers host Chattanooga at noon, then host Murray State at 6 p.m. at The Racquet Club of Memphis. Following the regional matches, the Tigers will then go on the road and not return home until March 29th. Memphis will start its 11-match road streak with a Feb. 4th match at number 26 Vanderbilt. The Tigers will stay in Nashville and face number 32 Harvard in a neutral site match on Feb. 5th.
Admission to the Tigers' home matches on Friday is free.
Doubles
No. 1 -- #10 Austin Smith/Ben Wagland (Georgia) def. Louis Asser/Kai Lemke (Memphis), 6-2
No. 2 – Felix Rauch/Ryan Peniston (Memphis) def. Paul Oosterbaan/Jan Zielinski (Georgia), 6-2
No. 3 -- #45 Emil Reinberg/Wayne Montgomery (Georgia) def. Shakeel Manji/Andrew Watson (Memphis), 7-5
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles
No. 1 -- #28 Austin Smith (Georgia) def. #87 Andrew Watson (Memphis), 5-7, 7-6, 7-5
No. 2 – Ryan Peniston (Memphis) def. #20 Wayne Montgomery (Georgia), 6-4, 7-6 (12-10)
No. 3 -- #40 Paul Oosterbaan (Georgia) def. Kai Lemke (Memphis), 6-4, 6-7, 6-3
No. 4 -- #105 Walker Duncan (Georgia) def. Chris Patzanovsky (Memphis), 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
No. 5 – Felix Rauch (Memphis) vs. Jan Zielinski (Georgia), 4-6, 1-1, uf
No. 6 – Shakeel Manji (Memphis) vs. Ben Wagland (Georgia), 5-2, uf
Order of Finish: 4, 2, 3, 1
"That was a serious college tennis match," Head Coach Paul Goebel said. "That was a level up from our Oklahoma State match and I thought we played really well in that one. It's tough, because we had a lot of positives and we were so close. It was a huge opportunity and you don't get a chance to go in to number six in the country and have a chance at the win that often."
The battle began right away in doubles. The Memphis tandem of Louis Asser and Kai Lemke were facing their second top 10 ranked doubles opponent in three matches, falling 6-2 to the No. 10 ranked team of Austin Smith and Ben Wagland. The duo is now 0-3 on the year at No. 1, but has faced the number nine, 10 and 57 ranked teams in the country to start the spring.
The team of Ryan Peniston and Felix Rauch improved to 2-1 on the year with a 6-2 win at No. 2 and all eyes moved to the match at number three, where the Memphis pairing of Andrew Watson and Shakeel Manji were facing No. 45 ranked Emil Reinberg and Wayne Montgomery. That doubles match, which determined the fate of the team point for doubles, went the way of the home team, 7-5, and started Memphis down 1-0 in singles play.
And then the singles slug-it-out matches began. Freshman Chris Patzanovsky jumped out to quick lead over number 105 ranked Walker Duncan at number four and held on for a 6-4 first set win. Meanwhile, teammates Andrew Watson (7-5) and Ryan Peniston (6-4) were also grabbing first set victories against ranked opponents. Kai Lemke was the lone Tiger to drop his first set, falling 6-4, but battled back to win a tiebreak in the second set to force a third.
While Lemke was in his tiebreak, teammates Watson and Peniston were also in breakers on adjacent courts, and Patzanovsky fell, 6-3, in the third set to see Georgia go up 2-0 in the match. Watson dropped his second set breaker, 7-6, and Peniston and number 20 ranked Wayne Montgomery went all the way to 12-10 in the tiebreak before Peniston put away the win, grabbing his 15th win of the year and his second straight in dual season play. The win over the ranked opponent improved the sophomore to 3-1 on the year against ranked foes and pushed his record to 9-1 in his last 10 matches.
With the score favoring Georgia, 2-1, number 40 ranked Paul Oosterbaan bounced back from his tiebreak loss to Lemke to take the third set, 6-3, at number three, giving Georgia a 3-1 lead. As the matches at five and six singles came on due to the split sets and the Peniston win, Watson was looking to get Memphis within a point at 3-2 down and was tied at 5-all in the third set. But Smith got the upper hand late, taking the third, 7-5, and sealing the win 4-1 for Georgia.
"We've just got to seal the deal," Goebel said. "But that was a fun match to play in. I really feel like it's better to play in that environment against that level of competition. That's why we schedule the way we do. Their fans were really in to it and they were really complimentary of the great tennis post match. That was fun, really fun, but really tough to take right now too."
With the match decided, the remaining matches at five and six were abandoned.
Memphis returns home for a pair of regional match-ups on Friday. The Tigers host Chattanooga at noon, then host Murray State at 6 p.m. at The Racquet Club of Memphis. Following the regional matches, the Tigers will then go on the road and not return home until March 29th. Memphis will start its 11-match road streak with a Feb. 4th match at number 26 Vanderbilt. The Tigers will stay in Nashville and face number 32 Harvard in a neutral site match on Feb. 5th.
Admission to the Tigers' home matches on Friday is free.
Doubles
No. 1 -- #10 Austin Smith/Ben Wagland (Georgia) def. Louis Asser/Kai Lemke (Memphis), 6-2
No. 2 – Felix Rauch/Ryan Peniston (Memphis) def. Paul Oosterbaan/Jan Zielinski (Georgia), 6-2
No. 3 -- #45 Emil Reinberg/Wayne Montgomery (Georgia) def. Shakeel Manji/Andrew Watson (Memphis), 7-5
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles
No. 1 -- #28 Austin Smith (Georgia) def. #87 Andrew Watson (Memphis), 5-7, 7-6, 7-5
No. 2 – Ryan Peniston (Memphis) def. #20 Wayne Montgomery (Georgia), 6-4, 7-6 (12-10)
No. 3 -- #40 Paul Oosterbaan (Georgia) def. Kai Lemke (Memphis), 6-4, 6-7, 6-3
No. 4 -- #105 Walker Duncan (Georgia) def. Chris Patzanovsky (Memphis), 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
No. 5 – Felix Rauch (Memphis) vs. Jan Zielinski (Georgia), 4-6, 1-1, uf
No. 6 – Shakeel Manji (Memphis) vs. Ben Wagland (Georgia), 5-2, uf
Order of Finish: 4, 2, 3, 1
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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