Vols cruise past Bulldogs

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - No. 13 Tennessee entered Friday's quarterfinal matchup against Georgia looking for a measure of revenge and served it up in shutout fashion, dominating the Bulldogs from start to finish, cruising to a, 4-0, victory on day three of the SEC Tournament.

"Statement win today over a very talented Georgia team," assistant coach James McKie said. "We are so proud of these guys. We had to move indoors and we responded well on only three courts. Our doubles was solid and Timo, Adam and Scotty did their job to put it to bed."

The Vols sliced through the Bulldogs in doubles, winning on courts one and three. On one, the 10th-ranked duo of Timo Stodder and Prestion Touliatos defeated the 18th-ranked paring of Jan Zielinski and Robert Loeb, 6-3.

Stodder and Touliatos have now won eight of their last nine doubles matches with four wins over ranked opponents this season.

At court three, Aussies Scott Jones and Adam Walton made quick work of Georgia's Philip Henning and Alex Diaz, winning 6-3, and clinching the doubles point for the Vols. On court two, Andrew Rogers and Pat Harper went unfinished but led 5-4 when the match ended.

It was more of the same for Tennessee in singles as No. 28 Stodder took down No. 17 Zielinski, 6-3, 6-2, at center court. It is the second time this season Stodder has defeated Zielinski in singles. Stodder has now won eight-straight matches, one shy of tying his career high which he set earlier this season.

Over on court two, No. 71 Walton defeated 31st-ranked Emil Reinberg, 6-3, 6-3. The pair met earlier in the year but went unfinished in the first meeting after splitting the first two sets. Walton has now won seven of his last 10 matches and improves to 21-5 on the year.

Jones sealed the win for UT on court three as he took down Loeb, 6-2, 6-3. Jones is now 26-9 overall this season.

"Our focus immediately shifts to Florida," McKie said. "We must stick together and trust each other in the big moments. Good teams can show up on any given day, but great teams back it up the next."

Due to inclement weather, the match was played indoors where only three courts were available so Tennessee did not play singles matches at five or six. On four, Luca Wiedenmann and Trent Bryde had just begun play when Jones clinched the match.

UP NEXT:

Tennessee advances to tomorrow's semifinal and will face the No. 1 seed Florida Gators at 3 p.m. Florida defeated Alabama, 4-1, earlier on Friday in its quarterfinal match. A live stream and live stats will be available for the match.

BOX SCORE

#13 Tennessee 4, #17 Georgia 0

Singles

1. #28 Timo Stodder (UT) def. #17 Jan Zielinski (UGA) 6-3, 6-2

2. #71 Adam Walton (UT) def. #31 Emil Reinberg (UGA) 6-3, 6-3

3. Scott Jones (UT) def. Robert Loeb (UGA) 6-2, 6-3

4. Luca Wiedenmann (UT) vs. Trent Bryde (UGA) 0-0, unfinished

Doubles

1. #10 Timo Stodder/Preston Touliatos (UT) def. #18 Robert Loeb/Jan Zielinski (UGA) 6-3

2. Pat Harper/Andrew Rogers (UT) vs. Walker Duncan/Emil Reinberg (UGA) 5-4, unfinished

3. Scott Jones/Adam Walton (UT) def. Alex Diaz/Philip Henning (UGA) 6-3