ATHENS-----The Georgia men's tennis team will open the SEC portion of its schedule this week with road matches against Florida Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and Auburn Saturday at 2 p.m. The Bulldogs enter conference play with a 7-2 record and ranked No. 7 in the country. Georgia has three wins against top-15 teams and two against teams in the top-five. Two-time defending SEC champion Georgia is seeking its 29th regular season conference title this season and 38th overall.

LAST TIME OUT: Georgia blanked Furman 9-0 last Sunday in a match that was moved indoors due to rain. The two teams played to nine points, and it was the first time since a win over Georgia Tech in 1992 that the Bulldogs scored nine points in a match. Ben Wagland clinched his first match of the season at No. 4.

RANKINGS:This week marked the first edition of computerized rankings, and the Bulldogs came in at No. 7. Three Bulldogs are ranked in the top-25 in singles: Nathan Pasha at No. 16, Wayne Montgomery at No. 17 and Austin Smith at No. 25. In doubles, three Georgia doubles teams are ranked, led by Smith and Ben Wagland at No. 10.

NOTEWORTHY: 
• For all SEC regular season matches and the SEC Tournament, the new ITA format that has been used all season will continue to be in effect. Last year's format will apply to all NCAA Tournament matches. 

•Since Georgia utilized three new doubles teams leading into National Indoors, the Bulldogs have won the doubles point in all four matches. Three of those matches came against teams that are currently ranked in the top-13 in the country. 

• Austin Smith and Ben Wagland were named to the National Indoors All-Tournament Team at No. 1 doubles. They won all three matches against teams ranked Nos. 1, 11 and 12 

• Wayne Montgomery has been named the SEC Freshman of the Week twice this season 

• This is the second consecutive year Georgia has played at both Florida and Auburn. The Bulldogs edged the Gators 4-3 last year in Gainesville, and they beat the Tigers 4-0 in the 2014 regular season finale.

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs will play the first SEC home matches of this season against Texas A&M Friday, March 6 at 2:30 p.m. and LSU Sunday at 1 p.m.