University of Georgia Athletics
Photo by: Kari Hodges/UGAAA
Bulldogs Conclude Day One of Gamecock Kickoff
January 05, 2024 | Men's Tennis
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Georgia men's tennis team returned to action at the Gamecock Kickoff on Friday, with freshman Niels Ratiu winning both his singles and doubles match on the first day of the event at the Carolina Tennis Center.
"We had a lot of good play today and we also have some areas that we need to improve on," head coach Manuel Diaz said. "Our guys have made incredible improvements. I am looking forward to seeing adjustments from our guys over the next two days. Ryan, Niels and Filipe in singles had great days in singles while Thomas and Niels had solid play in doubles."
In doubles action, Thomas Paulsell and Ratiu earned their second-straight win together. The pair closed out the fall at the Georgia Tech Invitational with a win and picked up where they left off, defeating VCU's Oscar Pinto Sansano and German Samofalov by a 6-4 score.
Filipe Costa earned the first singles win in 2024 for the Bulldogs with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Illinois' Olivier Onokowo, the redshirt sophomore's fourth of the year. No. 36 Ryan Colby also notched a straight-set win, beating William Mroz of Illinois, 6-2, 6-4, improving his singles record to 8-5. Freshman Ratiu dropped the first set breaker against Illinois' Jeremy Zhang but managed to take the match by a 6-7, 7-5, 6-1 result, marking the fourth three-set victory in six singles wins this season.
The Gamecock Kickoff will resume action on Saturday, Jan. 6 at 9 a.m. ET with the day's first set of matches and the second slate to begin not before 1 p.m. The tournament is played in a round-robin format. Georgia, who is joined by host South Carolina, Illinois and VCU, will play in matches against a rotation of the opposing schools in singles and doubles. Players will compete in one match in both competitions each day. Admission is free for fans to attend.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Bulldogs by following UGA Men's Tennis on social media on Instagram and X @UGATennis, on Facebook @UGAMensTennis, and on the web at GeorgiaDogs.com.
Doubles Results
Day One
Niels Ratiu/Thomas Paulsell (UGA) def. Oscar Pinto Sansano/German Samofalov (VCU) 6-4
Romain Gales/Matisse Bobichon (VCU) def. Ryan Colby/Filipe Costa (UGA) 6-1
Hamza El Amine/Mathis Bondaz (VCU) def. Miguel Perez Peña/Cyrus Mahjoob (UGA) 6-4
Karis Ozolins/William Mroz (Ill.) def. Parker Jacques/Davis Taylor (UGA) 6-0
Singles Results
Day One
Romain Gales (VCU) def. Parker Mariencheck (UGA) 7-6(4), 7-5
Hamza El Amine (VCU) def. Davis Taylor (UGA) 6-3, 6-1
Filipe Costa (UGA) def. Oliver Okonkwo (Ill.) 6-2, 6-3
No. 55 Karlis Ozolins (Ill.) def. No. 41 Thomas Paulsell (UGA) 6-4, 6-4
No. 17 Kenta Miyoshi (Ill.) def. No. 112 Cyrus Mahjoob (UGA) 7-5, 6-1
No. 46 Hunter Heck (Ill.) def. No. 43 Miguel Perez Peña (UGA) 6-2, 6-2
Niels Ratiu (UGA) def. Jeremy Zhang (Ill.) 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-1
No. 36 Ryan Colby (UGA) def. William Mroz (Ill.) 6-2, 6-4
Tyler Bowers (Ill.) def. Parker Jacques (UGA) 3-6, 6-4, 10-8
Lucas Horve (Ill.) def. Davis Taylor (UGA) 6-1, 6-3
"We had a lot of good play today and we also have some areas that we need to improve on," head coach Manuel Diaz said. "Our guys have made incredible improvements. I am looking forward to seeing adjustments from our guys over the next two days. Ryan, Niels and Filipe in singles had great days in singles while Thomas and Niels had solid play in doubles."
In doubles action, Thomas Paulsell and Ratiu earned their second-straight win together. The pair closed out the fall at the Georgia Tech Invitational with a win and picked up where they left off, defeating VCU's Oscar Pinto Sansano and German Samofalov by a 6-4 score.
Filipe Costa earned the first singles win in 2024 for the Bulldogs with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Illinois' Olivier Onokowo, the redshirt sophomore's fourth of the year. No. 36 Ryan Colby also notched a straight-set win, beating William Mroz of Illinois, 6-2, 6-4, improving his singles record to 8-5. Freshman Ratiu dropped the first set breaker against Illinois' Jeremy Zhang but managed to take the match by a 6-7, 7-5, 6-1 result, marking the fourth three-set victory in six singles wins this season.
The Gamecock Kickoff will resume action on Saturday, Jan. 6 at 9 a.m. ET with the day's first set of matches and the second slate to begin not before 1 p.m. The tournament is played in a round-robin format. Georgia, who is joined by host South Carolina, Illinois and VCU, will play in matches against a rotation of the opposing schools in singles and doubles. Players will compete in one match in both competitions each day. Admission is free for fans to attend.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Bulldogs by following UGA Men's Tennis on social media on Instagram and X @UGATennis, on Facebook @UGAMensTennis, and on the web at GeorgiaDogs.com.
Doubles Results
Day One
Niels Ratiu/Thomas Paulsell (UGA) def. Oscar Pinto Sansano/German Samofalov (VCU) 6-4
Romain Gales/Matisse Bobichon (VCU) def. Ryan Colby/Filipe Costa (UGA) 6-1
Hamza El Amine/Mathis Bondaz (VCU) def. Miguel Perez Peña/Cyrus Mahjoob (UGA) 6-4
Karis Ozolins/William Mroz (Ill.) def. Parker Jacques/Davis Taylor (UGA) 6-0
Singles Results
Day One
Romain Gales (VCU) def. Parker Mariencheck (UGA) 7-6(4), 7-5
Hamza El Amine (VCU) def. Davis Taylor (UGA) 6-3, 6-1
Filipe Costa (UGA) def. Oliver Okonkwo (Ill.) 6-2, 6-3
No. 55 Karlis Ozolins (Ill.) def. No. 41 Thomas Paulsell (UGA) 6-4, 6-4
No. 17 Kenta Miyoshi (Ill.) def. No. 112 Cyrus Mahjoob (UGA) 7-5, 6-1
No. 46 Hunter Heck (Ill.) def. No. 43 Miguel Perez Peña (UGA) 6-2, 6-2
Niels Ratiu (UGA) def. Jeremy Zhang (Ill.) 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-1
No. 36 Ryan Colby (UGA) def. William Mroz (Ill.) 6-2, 6-4
Tyler Bowers (Ill.) def. Parker Jacques (UGA) 3-6, 6-4, 10-8
Lucas Horve (Ill.) def. Davis Taylor (UGA) 6-1, 6-3
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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