Sunday, January 22
Austin, TX
3 p.m. ET
University of Georgia
3
at
4
Texas
Georgia Falls in a Close Match to Texas, 4-3
January 22, 2023 | Men's Tennis
AUSTIN, Texas – The University of Georgia men's tennis team lost a close match to Texas by a 4-3 result on Sunday afternoon at the Texas Tennis Center.
The 12th-ranked Bulldogs (0-2) picked up three wins in singles and one in doubles, but it was not enough to defeat No. 7 Texas (3-0). No. 55 Blake Croyder and Britton Johnston won the team's lone doubles match, while No. 106 Trent Bryde, No. 21 Croyder and Miguel Perez Peña earned wins in singles.
"I was very pleased with how we competed today," said head coach Manny Diaz. "It's always a game of inches, and today was no exception. We lost a hard-fought doubles point after being up a break at both matches we lost. Texas just lifted their games in front of their great crowd to take the tiebreaker in the decider. They deserve all the credit. Our guys fought very well in singles, but Texas played extremely well at the top of the lineup. I feel like we made great progress today, but we are not satisfied with the outcome because we didn't get the job done today."
The match began in doubles competition, with Texas earning the doubles point after winning a tiebreaker on court one.
The Bulldogs began doubles with a swift win from No. 55 Croyder and Johnston, earning a 6-2 victory over Chih Chi Huang and Eshan Talluri. Teodor Giusca and Philip Henning dropped their match on court two by a 6-4 result to Pierre-Yves Bailly and Siem Woldeab, which put the deciding match on court one.
No. 19 Bryde and Ethan Quinn found themselves ahead late, 6-5, but could not close out the match and went to a tiebreaker against No. 7 Cleeve Harper and Eliot Spizzirri. The Texas tandem would go on the win the game and the match, 7-6(4), and took a 1-0 match lead heading into singles competition.
All six matches in singles were a battle, with four of them needing three sets to decide a victor.
13th-ranked Woldeab managed to defeat No. 70 Giusca in a 7-5, 6-4 decision. No. 10 Henning fell shortly after, dropping his match on court two to Bailly by a 6-3, 7-5 margin, giving Texas a 3-0 match lead.
Croyder earned the first win in singles for Georgia. The No. 21-ranked singles player beat Huang by 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 result, putting the Bulldogs on the board and picking up his 10th singles win of the year. However, the Longhorns would go on to clinch the match on court one. No. 3 Eliot Spizzirri eventually defeated No. 1 Quinn in three sets to confirm the result.
The teams decided to play out the remaining matches on courts four and six. No. 106 Bryde picked up his first win of the dual match season by taking down Harper in a 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 final. The senior has now won seven of his last nine matches, dating back to the fall season. Perez Peña closed out the day for the Bulldogs with a win over No. 104 Evin McDonald, giving the sophomore his fifth-consecutive singles win and his second over a ranked opponent this year.
Georgia's next match will be its home opener, hosting a region of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Kick-off Weekend on Jan. 29 and 30. The Bulldogs' first opponent will be conference foe LSU on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 2:30 p.m. ET. Should Georgia win, it would face the winner of Miami and Louisville with a spot in the ITA Team Indoor Championships on the line on Monday, Jan. 30 at 2:30 p.m.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Bulldogs by following UGA Men's Tennis on social media on Twitter and Instagram @UGATennis, on Facebook @UGAMensTennis, and on the web at GeorgiaDogs.com.
Singles Results
1. #3 Eliot Spizzirri (UT) def. #1 Ethan Quinn (UGA) 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-1
2. Pierre-Yves Bailly (UT) def. #10 Philip Henning (UGA) 6-3, 7-5
3. #13 Siem Woldeab (UT) def. #70 Teodor Giusca (UGA) 7-5, 6-4
4. #106 Trent Bryde (UGA) def. Cleeve Harper (UT) 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
5. #21 Blake Croyder (UGA) def. Chih Chi Huang (UT) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
6. Miguel Perez Pena (UGA) def. #104 Evin McDonald (UT) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
Order of finish: 3, 2, 5, 1*, 4, 6
Doubles Results
1. #7 Cleeve Harper/Eliot Spizzirri (TEX) def. #19 Trent Bryde/Ethan Quinn (UGA) 7-6(4)
2. Pierre-Yves Bailly/Siem Woldeab (TEX) def. Teodor Giusca/Philip Henning (UGA) 6-4
3. #55 Blake Croyder/Britton Johnston (UGA) def. Chih Chi Huang/Eshan Talluri (TEX) 6-2
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1*
The 12th-ranked Bulldogs (0-2) picked up three wins in singles and one in doubles, but it was not enough to defeat No. 7 Texas (3-0). No. 55 Blake Croyder and Britton Johnston won the team's lone doubles match, while No. 106 Trent Bryde, No. 21 Croyder and Miguel Perez Peña earned wins in singles.
"I was very pleased with how we competed today," said head coach Manny Diaz. "It's always a game of inches, and today was no exception. We lost a hard-fought doubles point after being up a break at both matches we lost. Texas just lifted their games in front of their great crowd to take the tiebreaker in the decider. They deserve all the credit. Our guys fought very well in singles, but Texas played extremely well at the top of the lineup. I feel like we made great progress today, but we are not satisfied with the outcome because we didn't get the job done today."
The match began in doubles competition, with Texas earning the doubles point after winning a tiebreaker on court one.
The Bulldogs began doubles with a swift win from No. 55 Croyder and Johnston, earning a 6-2 victory over Chih Chi Huang and Eshan Talluri. Teodor Giusca and Philip Henning dropped their match on court two by a 6-4 result to Pierre-Yves Bailly and Siem Woldeab, which put the deciding match on court one.
No. 19 Bryde and Ethan Quinn found themselves ahead late, 6-5, but could not close out the match and went to a tiebreaker against No. 7 Cleeve Harper and Eliot Spizzirri. The Texas tandem would go on the win the game and the match, 7-6(4), and took a 1-0 match lead heading into singles competition.
All six matches in singles were a battle, with four of them needing three sets to decide a victor.
13th-ranked Woldeab managed to defeat No. 70 Giusca in a 7-5, 6-4 decision. No. 10 Henning fell shortly after, dropping his match on court two to Bailly by a 6-3, 7-5 margin, giving Texas a 3-0 match lead.
Croyder earned the first win in singles for Georgia. The No. 21-ranked singles player beat Huang by 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 result, putting the Bulldogs on the board and picking up his 10th singles win of the year. However, the Longhorns would go on to clinch the match on court one. No. 3 Eliot Spizzirri eventually defeated No. 1 Quinn in three sets to confirm the result.
The teams decided to play out the remaining matches on courts four and six. No. 106 Bryde picked up his first win of the dual match season by taking down Harper in a 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 final. The senior has now won seven of his last nine matches, dating back to the fall season. Perez Peña closed out the day for the Bulldogs with a win over No. 104 Evin McDonald, giving the sophomore his fifth-consecutive singles win and his second over a ranked opponent this year.
Georgia's next match will be its home opener, hosting a region of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Kick-off Weekend on Jan. 29 and 30. The Bulldogs' first opponent will be conference foe LSU on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 2:30 p.m. ET. Should Georgia win, it would face the winner of Miami and Louisville with a spot in the ITA Team Indoor Championships on the line on Monday, Jan. 30 at 2:30 p.m.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Bulldogs by following UGA Men's Tennis on social media on Twitter and Instagram @UGATennis, on Facebook @UGAMensTennis, and on the web at GeorgiaDogs.com.
Singles Results
1. #3 Eliot Spizzirri (UT) def. #1 Ethan Quinn (UGA) 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-1
2. Pierre-Yves Bailly (UT) def. #10 Philip Henning (UGA) 6-3, 7-5
3. #13 Siem Woldeab (UT) def. #70 Teodor Giusca (UGA) 7-5, 6-4
4. #106 Trent Bryde (UGA) def. Cleeve Harper (UT) 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
5. #21 Blake Croyder (UGA) def. Chih Chi Huang (UT) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
6. Miguel Perez Pena (UGA) def. #104 Evin McDonald (UT) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
Order of finish: 3, 2, 5, 1*, 4, 6
Doubles Results
1. #7 Cleeve Harper/Eliot Spizzirri (TEX) def. #19 Trent Bryde/Ethan Quinn (UGA) 7-6(4)
2. Pierre-Yves Bailly/Siem Woldeab (TEX) def. Teodor Giusca/Philip Henning (UGA) 6-4
3. #55 Blake Croyder/Britton Johnston (UGA) def. Chih Chi Huang/Eshan Talluri (TEX) 6-2
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1*
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
Georgia Men's Tennis NCAA Round 2 vs NC State - Postmatch Interview - Coach Hunt
Sunday, May 04
Georgia Men's Tennis NCAA Round 1 vs UNCW - Video Recap
Saturday, May 03
Georgia Men's Tennis SEC Tournament vs Oklahoma Post-match Interview - Coach Hunt
Thursday, April 17
Georgia Men's Tennis Feature - Lifelong Bond: Miguel Perez Peña and Oscar Pinto Sansano
Tuesday, April 15
