Florida Falls to Georgia 4-3 in SEC Tournament Semifinals

Saturday, April 29

Knoxville, TN

10:00 AM

Florida Gators

Georgia

Johannes Ingildsen earned the third team point for Florida with a win in the No. 5 singles position (Photo: Bill Kallenberg for UAA Communications)

Florida Falls to Georgia 4-3 in SEC Tournament Semifinals

Saturday, April 29, 2017 | Men's Tennis

By: Kelsey Bibik

Box Score (PDF) | Bracket

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 3 seed Florida Gators fell to the No. 2 seed Georgia Bulldogs 4-3 in the Semifinals of the SEC Tournament on Saturday, April 29^th. The highly contested match came down to the wire, as the teams remained tied throughout the match that was decided by a second set tiebreak.

This loss knocks the Gators out of the SEC Tournament, and marks the tenth time in the history of the tournament that the Gators finished in the semifinal round.

In doubles play, Maxx Lipman and Elliott Orkin earned a quick 6-4 win over Wayne Montgomery and Walker Duncan. The first and third doubles positions moved at the same pace, with the Gators duo of Chase Perez-Blanco and Joshua Wardell trailing 5-4, and the No. 5 team of Alfredo Perez and Johannes Ingildsen trailing 5-3.

The ranked duo held off a set point on Court 1, bringing the score to 5-4. Paul Oosterbaan and Emil Reinberg eventually pulled out a 6-4 win on Court 3 to split the sets, and No. 2 Robert Loeb and Jan Zielinski took down Ingildsen/Perez 6-4 to clinch the doubles point for Georgia.

In singles play, Nathan Ponwith was forced to retire in the No. 1 position, giving Florida its first team point to tie up the score 1-1. Georgia retaliated with a win on Court 3 as Perez-Blanco fell to No. 61 Emil Reinberg, but McClain Kessler was able to earn a huge 6-3, 6-3 win over Loeb on Court 6, tying up the team score 2-2.

Ingildsen earned the third team point for the Gators with a 6-4, 6-3 defeat of Duncan on Court 5. From there, the match rested in the hands of Florida's two seniors – Orkin on Court 2 and Lipman on Court 4. No. 81 Orkin fought hard against Georgia's No. 31 Montgomery as he won the second set 6-1 after losing 6-1 in the first, but the Bulldog was able to take the third set to tie the team score 3-3.

The final team point came down to Court 4, where Lipman lost the first set but kept the second tied to go into a tiebreak. His opponent, Jan Zielinski, led in the tiebreak all the way to the end, where he won 7-4 to clinch the match for Georgia.

The Bulldogs now hold a 5-4 lead over Florida in their SEC Tournament series, and the Gators now have a 9-11 record in the semifinal round of the tournament.

Florida 3, Georgia 4
SEC Tournament Semifinals
April 29^th, 2017 | 10:00 AM
Knoxville, Tenn. | Barksdale Tennis Stadium

Doubles (Order of finish: 2, 3, 1)
1. #2 Robert Loeb/Jan Zielinski (UGA) def. #5 Alfredo Perez/Johannes Ingildsen (UF) 6-4
2. Maxx Lipman/Elliott Orkin (UF) def. Wayne Montgomery/Walker Duncan (UGA) 6-4
3. Paul Oosterbaan/Emil Reinberg (UGA) def. Chase Perez-Blanco/Joshua Wardell (UF) 6-4

Singles (Order of finish: 1, 3, 6, 5, 2, 4)
1. #8 Alfredo Perez (UF) def. #49 Nathan Ponwith (UGA) 2-1, retired
2. #31 Wayne Montgomery (UGA) def. #81 Elliott Orkin (UF) 6-1, 1-6, 6-1
3. #61 Emil Reinberg (UGA) def. Chase Perez-Blanco (UF) 6-2, 6-2
4. Jan Zielinski (UGA) def. Maxx Lipman (UF) 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)
5. Johannes Ingildsen (UF) def. Walker Duncan (UGA) 6-4, 6-3
6. McClain Kessler (UF) def. Robert Loeb (UGA) 6-3, 6-3

Up Next for the Gators
Florida will now look forward to the NCAA Tournament in two weeks. Rankings and tournament selections will be decided on Tuesday, May 2^nd.

Gators at the Tournament

All-Time Record: 41-23
Championships: 5 (1994, 2000, 2005, 2011, 2016)
Final Round Appearances: 9
Record in the…
- First Round: 7-1
- Quarterfinals: 20-7
- Semifinals: 9-11
- Finals: 5-4