University of Georgia Athletics
University of Georgia
Louisville
Bulldogs Top Louisville To Advance To ITA Indoors
January 30, 2023 | Men's Tennis
ATHENS, Ga. — The No. 15-ranked Georgia men's tennis team had to work hard and dig deep to take down Louisville, 4-1, Monday night in the second round of the ITA Kickoff Weekend at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
With the win, Georgia (2-2) advanced to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships next month in Chicago. Before heading north to Chicago in a couple of weeks, the Bulldogs head down to the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, Fla., this weekend, for matches against No. 18 Stanford and No. 7 USC.
Tuesday morning's rain pushed back play by a couple of hours, so the Georgia-Louisville match, originally slated for 2:30, didn't get going until just after 5. The match began under cloudy skies and ended under the lights when senior Philip Henning clinched the victory at No. 2 singles.
"Every match is different — different atmosphere, different vibes. It's not something you actually get used to," Henning said of clinching. "I mean you kind of expect it, but it's always a different feeling. It was great clinching the match for us. It was a great team effort by everyone."
Georgia's singles lineup featured five players ranked among the top 106 at the end of the fall, led by No. 1 Ethan Quinn and No. 10 Henning, while the Cardinals had four players. In doubles, Louisville (5-1) had the No. 9-ranked team in Natan Rodrigues and Fabien Salle, while the Bulldogs had Quinn and Trent Bryde (ranked No. 19) and Blake Croyer and Britton Johnston (No. 55).
Georgia's Croyder and Johnston struck first in doubles at No. 3, overcoming an early break of serve to come back for a 6-4 win over Etienne Donnet and Sergio Hernandez. The Bulldog duo at No. 2, Teodor Giusca and Henning, clinched the doubles point for Georgia with a 6-4 win over David Mizrahi and Matthew Fung.
Louisville got on the scoreboard in singles, tying the match 1-1, with a win at No. 3, where Donnet defeated Guise, 6-1, 6-0. Georgia had won the first set in the other five matches but the Cardinals answered by taking the second set in three of those matches.
Miguel Perez Peña took care of business at No. 6 to put the Bulldogs up 2-1, defeating Mizrahi, 6-3, 6-2. Quinn and Henning had to work hard for their straight-set wins to clinch the 4-1 victory. At No. 1, Quinn and Rodrigues battled for two tight sets before Georgia's redshirt freshman pulled out a 6-4, 7-5 win.
While Quinn was closing out his match, Henning was in a second-set tiebreaker with Salle at No. 2. Henning jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the tiebreaker, and a backhand, cross-court winner after a long rally clinched the match, winning 6-2, 7-6 (3).
"It feels good. It feels good. We're all a little bit tired, we earned a good victory today, so extremely pleased with our guys," Georgia coach Manuel Diaz said. "They battled hard. Louisville is going to surprise a lot of people. They're just a great team. They're so well coached and they're a fighting bunch. They just wouldn't go away and they kept fighting us and it made for a great match."
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Bulldogs by following the team on Twitter (@UGATennis) and Instagram (@ugatennis).
ITA Kickoff Weekend
Results
No. 15 Georgia 4, Louisville 1
Doubles
1. #19 Ethan Quinn/Trent Bryde (UGA) vs. #9 Natan Rodrigues/Fabien Salle (UL), 6-5, unfinished
2. Teodor Giusca/Philip Henning (UGA) vs. David Mizrahi/Matthew Fung (UL), 6-4
3. #55 Blake Croyder/Britton Johnston (UGA) def. Etienne Donnet/Sergio Hernandez (UL), 6-4
Singles
1. #1 Ethan Quinn (UGA) def. #25 Natan Rodrigues (UL), 6-4, 7-5
2. #10 Philip Henning (UGA) def. #36 Fabien Salle (UL), 6-2, 7-6 (3)
3. #42 Etienne Donnet (UL) def. #70 Teodor Giusca (UGA), 6-1, 6-0
4. #106 Trent Bryde (UGA) vs. #61 Matthew Fung (UL), 6-1, 3-6, 4-1, unfinished
5. #21 Blake Croyder (UGA) vs. Sergio Hernandez (UL), 6-2, 2-6, 3-4, unfinished
6. Miguel Perez Peña (UGA) def. David Mizrahi (UL), 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish
Doubles: 3, 2
Singles: 3, 6, 1, 2
Players Mentioned
