Bulldogs Begin Postseason Play at SEC Tournament

Friday, April 21

Auburn, Ala.

4 p.m. ET

University of Georgia

Florida

Trent Bryde during match against Mississippi State on April 13, 2023.

April 20, 2023 | Men's Tennis

Tournament Central Match Notes Georgia Season Stats Florida Season Stats Quarterfinal Live Stats Semifinal Live Stats Championship Live Stats Quarterfinal Live Stream Semifinal Broadcast (SEC Network+)Championship Broadcast (SEC Network)

ATHENS, Ga. – The fourth-ranked University of Georgia men's tennis team will start its postseason on Friday at 4 p.m. ET with the Southeastern Conference Tournament at the Yarbrough Tennis Center, hosted by Auburn University. The top-seeded Bulldogs received a bye into the quarterfinals and will play No. 8 seed Florida in their first match.

#1 Georgia (18-5, 12-0 SEC) vs. #8 Florida (14-12, 5-7 SEC)
Round: Quarterfinals
Date: Friday, April 21, 2023
Time: 4 p.m. ET
Location: Auburn, Ala.
Venue: Yarbrough Tennis Center

MEDIA INFORMATION
Tournament Central: https://gado.gs/age
Match Notes: https://gado.gs/ags

Schedule
Quarterfinals: Friday, April 21, 4 p.m. ET
Semifinals (with win Friday): Saturday, April 22, 4 p.m. ET
Championship (with win Saturday): Sunday, April 23, 4:30 p.m. ET

Season Stats
Georgia Season Stats: https://gado.gs/9xb
Florida Season Stats: https://gado.gs/adt

Live Stats
Quarterfinal Live Stats: https://gado.gs/agf
Semifinal Live Stats: https://gado.gs/agg
Championship Live Stats: https://gado.gs/agh

Broadcast Information
Quarterfinal Live Stream: https://gado.gs/a5p
Semifinal Broadcast (SEC Network+): https://gado.gs/agi
Championship Broadcast (SEC Network): https://gado.gs/agj
Sam Gore, pbp; Luke Jensen, analyst (SEC Network matches only)

Social Media
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 online at GeorgiaDogs.com.

QUICK HITS
Postseason Play Begins
Georgia will start its postseason with the SEC Tournament, seeking its 11^th conference title and 43^rd overall conference championship. The program's 10 titles are the most in the SEC since the tournament began in 1990, accounting for 31 percent of all tournament winners. Georgia has won the event in 1991, 1993, 1995, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2012, 2013 and 2017.

The Bulldogs last won the conference tournament in 2017, when it was hosted in Knoxville, Tenn. The team earned a bye into the quarterfinals after earning the regular season crown, going 11-1 during the SEC schedule. Georgia defeated Arkansas in the quarterfinals, 4-1, Florida in the semifinals, 4-3, and Mississippi State, 4-3 en route to its 10^th tournament title.

32-Time SEC Champions
With the Bulldogs' win against No. 12 Mississippi State at home on Thursday, April 13, Georgia clinched the outright regular season SEC Championship for the 32^nd time in program history, which leads the SEC. Georgia earned a perfect 12-0 record in conference play for the 16^th time and sixth in the Manny Diaz era. With an 18-5 record, the team finished the regular season with a .783-win percentage, the best since the 2015-16 squad entered the postseason at 18-3, good for a .857 percentage.

Diaz's Details
On the SEC tournament...
"It's an opportunity for us to continue to get better as a team. We've had an outstanding regular season in the conference and had a big turnaround for this program. Our guys are playing with confidence. To complete our regular season undefeated is a major feat, but we have to leave all that behind and take on a new challenge. Our conference being as great as it is right now, it's going to be a challenge each and every step of the way. I'm looking forward to having this team ready, and our guys are in a good frame of mind. We're excited for the challenge."

Dawgs in the Rankings
In the latest team rankings from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, Georgia held the No. 4 spot for the second consecutive week.

Redshirt freshman Ethan Quinn stayed at No. 4 in the singles ranking and has won 11 of his previous 12 matches including six consecutive wins. Four of those nine wins have come from players ranked within the top 55. With Philip Henning now at No. 15, Georgia becomes the only SEC school to have multiple players in the top 15 of the singles rankings.

Blake Croyder, the team's leader in dual match singles wins with 16, moved up to No. 101 after reaching his 100^th career win after defeating No. 95 Ewen Lumsden by a 6-2, 6-1 score on April 13. Trent Bryde makes his first appearance in the singles poll since Feb. 21, now being ranked No. 119. The Sewanee native is 10-5 on court three this season and 7-1 in his last eight match results.

Bryde and Quinn make up the top spot for Georgia in doubles and rose to the No. 7 pair in the country in the latest doubles poll. The tandem has won 12 matches this season on court one, including four point-clinching victories. Quinn is the only freshman in the nation to be ranked in the top 10 of both the singles and doubles poll.

Series History
Georgia vs. Florida – UGA leads, 61-25

Last five meetings:
- April 9, 2023, in Gainesville, Fla. – UGA, 4-3
- March 11, 2022, Athens - UF, 4-0
- March 5, 2021, Gainesville, Fla. - UF, 7-0
- February 20, 2021, Seattle (ITA National Team Indoor Championships) - UF, 4-2
- March 15, 2019, Athens - UF, 5-2

Georgia in the SEC Tournament – 53-22

Last five tournament finishes:
- Quarterfinals, 2022 (Athens)
- Quarterfinals, 2021 (Fayetteville, Ark.)
- Quarterfinals, 2019 (Gainesville, Fla.)
- Quarterfinals, 2018 (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
- Tournament Champions, 2017 (Knoxville, Tenn.)

Scouting the Field
#2 Tennessee (#9 ITA Ranking)
Singles: No. 2 Johannus Monday (17-2, 14-2 on #1), No. 32 Emile Hudd (17-7, 11-2 on #2)
Doubles: No. 5 Harper/Monday (14-3, 14-3 on #1), No. 46 Hudd/Mitsui (15-1, 15-1 on #2)

#3 Kentucky (#5 ITA Ranking)
Singles: No. 19 Liam Draxl (17-5 dual), No. 25 Alafia Ayeni (13-8 dual), No. 56 Joshua Lapadat (17-4 dual)
Doubles: No. 23 Ayeni/Baadi (8-7 dual), No. 67 Mercer/ Lapadat (11-5 dual)

#4 South Carolina (#6 ITA Ranking)
Singles: No. 8 Toby Samuel (18-4 dual), No. 17 Connor Thomson (17-4 dual), No. 96 Casey Hoole (11-9 dual), No. 118 Raphael Lambling (9-9 dual)
Doubles: No. 1 Thomson/Samuel (14-4, dual), No. 44 Beasley/Story (15-8 dual)

#5 Texas A&M (#21 ITA Ranking)
Singles: No. 50 Noah Schachter (9-8 dual), No. 64 Raphael Perot (15-7 dual), No. 110 Trey Hilderbrand (6-6 dual), No. 125 Pierce Rollins (18-10, dual)
Doubles: No. 39 Schachter/Hilderbrand 13-8, dual), No. 71 Rollins/Ross (3-0 dual)

#6 Mississippi State (#15 ITA Ranking)
Singles: No. 80 Nemanja Malesevic (12-9 dual), No. 116 Carles Hernandez (17-5 dual), No. 103 Ewen Lumsden (18-5 dual)
Doubles: No. 81 Malesevic/Novansky (1-1 dual)

#7 Ole Miss (#30 ITA Ranking)
Singles: No. 67 Nikola Slavic (14-7 dual)

#8 Florida (#24 ITA Ranking)
Singles: No. 37 Axel Nefve (12-11 dual), No. 86 Jonah Braswell (13-9 dual), No. 95 Will Grant (11-10 dual)
Doubles: No. 4 Grant/Nefve (14-5 dual)

#9 Auburn (#22 ITA Ranking)
Singles: No. 57 Tyler Stice (13-10 dual), No. 115 Alejandro Moreno (11-6 dual)
Doubles: No. 31 Dobai/Murgett (9-8 dual)

#10 LSU (#32 ITA Ranking)
Singles: No. 75 Ronnie Hohmann (8-8 dual), No. 123 Chen Dong (8-7 dual)
Doubles: No. 50 Hohmann/Watson (5-1 dual)

#11 Alabama (#46 ITA Ranking)
Singles: No. 92 Filip Planinsek (14-10 dual), No. 121 Enzo Aguiard (14-10 dual)
Doubles: N/A

#12 Vanderbilt (#71 ITA Ranking)
Singles: N/A
Doubles: No. 19 Troost/Casabon (9-4 dual)

#13 Arkansas (#74 ITA Ranking)
Singles N/A
Doubles: N/A