University of Georgia Athletics
Monday, February 26
Athens, Ga.
2:30 p.m.
University of Georgia
vs
No. 3 Wake Forest
Georgia Hosts No. 3 Wake Forest
February 25, 2024 | Men's Tennis
ATHENS, Ga. — The No. 40 Georgia men's tennis team will take on No. 3 Wake Forest on Monday, Feb. 25 at 2:30 p.m. at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
No. 40 GEORGIA VS. No. 3 WAKE FOREST
Date: Feb. 25, 2024
Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
Location: Athens, Ga.
Venue: Dan Magill Tennis Complex
MEDIA INFORMATION
Live Stats + Video: https://gado.gs/8mk
Georgia Season Stats: https://gado.gs/b9y
Wake Forest Season Stats: https://gado.gs/bg0
BULLDOGS BULLETIN
The First Serve: The Bulldogs are led on court one in singles by No. 54 Thomas Paulsell, who had played in just five dual matches before the start of the 2024 season. The junior, who has begun the year with three wins in the top spot, entered the spring with a career-best singles ranking of No. 43 after earning his best win on Nov. 3, 2023, at the Georgia Tech Invitational against Mississippi St.'s No. 46 Nemanja Malesevic.
Ryan Colby is currently the second highest-ranked singles player on the team at No. 56. The Southern California transfer has 13 singles wins on the year with an impressive 6-1 mark against ranked opponents.
In doubles, freshmen Freddy Blaydes and Niels Ratiu have been Georgia's choice on court one, where they are 2-1 and earned the point-clinching win in the team's opening match ITA Kickoff Weekend, where they beat Louisiana's Vasil Dimitrov and Mason Landreth by a 6-4 score.
Dawgs and Demon Deacons: Georgia and Wake Forest have played 20 matches against each other with the Bulldogs holding the series edge, 16-4. The programs have played just four times this century, though, with the Demon Deacons winning each meeting by a 4-3 result. Georgia's last win over Wake Forest was on March 20, 1988, by an 8-1 score in Athens.
Classic City Colby: Colby has started the dual-match season in impressive fashion. The junior has primarily played on court two for the first time in his career, where he is 4-1, winning three matches in straight sets. He has won five of his last seven singles matches, including three in a row against ranked opponents.
Colby ended the fall with career-best singles and doubles rankings of No. 36 and No. 25 with Ratiu respectively. He earned his highest-ranked win at the Longhorn Invitational over No. 17 Micah Braswell to begin his Georgia career. Colby is 6-1 against ranked opponents this year after starting his career 2-3 in his first two seasons.
Last Time Out: The Georgia men's tennis team fell to No. 25 North Carolina, 6-1, at the Chewing Tennis Center on Sunday, Feb. 11.
Georgia (4-3) was unable to take the doubles point after losing matches on courts two and three. Ratiu and Blaydes lost their first match together on court two, 6-4. Colby and Paulsell won for the third time this spring, 6-3, which put the deciding match on court three. It all came down to a breaker, where Cyrus Mahjoob and Miguel Perez Peña led North Carolina's (5-3) Peter Murphy and Patrick Schoen, 3-1, but ultimately fell by a 7-6(3) score.
The Tar Heels jumped out to a 3-0 lead after picking up straight-set wins on courts six and three in singles competition. No. 68 Paulsell and No. 44 Colby won their first sets, while on courts four and five Ratiu and Blaydes each dropped a breaker to fall behind in their matches. North Carolina went on to clinch the match on court four where No. 75 Karl Poling beat Ratiu by a 7-6(6), 6-4 score. The teams played out the remaining matches, where No. 44 Colby notched his sixth-ranked win of the year in three sets over No. 60 Benjamin Kittay, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3.
Dawgs in the Rankings: In the first 75-team Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings of the year, Georgia moved to No. 40 with a 4-3 record. Twelve of the Bulldogs' remaining 16 matches are against teams in the top 40 in the current poll. Georgia is one of nine Southeastern Conference teams in the top 40 – No. 5 Tennessee, No. 6 Kentucky, No. 12 Texas A&M, No. 14 South Carolina, No. 18 Alabama, No. 24 Mississippi State, No. 31 Vanderbilt and No. 36 LSU.
The Bulldogs currently have three players in the ITA singles rankings. For the first time in his collegiate career, No. 54 Paulsell is the highest-ranked player on the team after beginning the season with three wins on court one. He is closely followed by No. 56 Colby, who is 4-1 on court two. Junior No. 77 Perez Peña rounds out the ranked singles players for Georgia.
In doubles, No. 37 Colby and Ratiu, the lone ranked tandem among the Bulldogs, are currently 8-3 together.
Scouting the Demon Deacons: After reaching the semifinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, Wake Forest rose to No. 3 in the team rankings. The Demon Deacons beat No. 13 Michigan and No. 14 Arizona before falling to No. 2 TCU. With a 9-3 record, the team also has wins over No. 20 Florida, Illinois, No. 9 Columbia and No. 4 South Carolina
Filippo Moroni is Wake Forest's highest-ranked singles player at No. 25 with a 3-5 mark on court one. No. 53 Dhakshineswar Suresh, who is 3-3 on court two, is the only other player in the top 100 on the team. No. 112 Franco Capalbo and No. 117 Luciano Tacchi have both played most of their completed matches on court four.
The Cavaliers' lone representatives in the doubles rankings are No. 3 Dhakshineswar Suresh and Holden Koons with an 18-3 record this year.
Diaz Announces Retirement: Legendary men's tennis head coach Manuel Diaz, the SEC's all-time leader in career wins who has guided Georgia to 29 conference championships, four NCAA national titles and a pair of ITA indoor national championships in 36 years, announced on Thursday, Feb. 22, that he will retire after the current 2023-24 season.
Diaz has a 46-year association with the Georgia men's tennis program. He was a two-time All-American during his playing days from 1972-75 and then served on Coach Dan Magill's staff as an assistant/associate head coach from 1982-88. He has been a part of each of Georgia's national championship teams and has won SEC Championships in each of the last five decades.
"It's a difficult decision to step away from something that has been such a huge part of my life and that I've loved for so long," Diaz said. "Georgia tennis has given me so much, and I want to thank all our fans from all over the world."
Diaz has been at the helm of the Georgia men's tennis program since the 1988-89 season, following the retirement of his mentor, Dan Magill. During his tenure, Diaz has established the Bulldogs as a blueblood in the sport, capturing four NCAA Team Championships while appearing in the NCAA finals 11 times and winning two Intercollegiate Tennis Association Team National Indoor Championships.
Georgia has reached the NCAA Tournament in all 35 seasons under his leadership, advancing to the quarterfinals in 27 of those trips to the postseason. His players have captured eight individual NCAA Championships — three in doubles and five in singles. Most recently, Ethan Quinn won the NCAA singles title in 2023. Diaz has led the program to 10 SEC Tournament titles and 19 regular season crowns. Every four-year letterman has won at least one SEC Championship ring while playing at Georgia for Coach Diaz.
With 771 victories to date, Diaz is the all-time winningest coach in SEC history. He has been awarded seven conference Coach of the Year trophies, eight ITA Southeast Region Coach of the Year honors and three ITA National Coach of the Year awards.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Bulldogs by following UGA Men's tennis on Facebook, Instagram and X @UGATennis or check out information online at georgiadogs.com.
No. 40 GEORGIA VS. No. 3 WAKE FOREST
Date: Feb. 25, 2024
Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
Location: Athens, Ga.
Venue: Dan Magill Tennis Complex
MEDIA INFORMATION
Live Stats + Video: https://gado.gs/8mk
Georgia Season Stats: https://gado.gs/b9y
Wake Forest Season Stats: https://gado.gs/bg0
BULLDOGS BULLETIN
The First Serve: The Bulldogs are led on court one in singles by No. 54 Thomas Paulsell, who had played in just five dual matches before the start of the 2024 season. The junior, who has begun the year with three wins in the top spot, entered the spring with a career-best singles ranking of No. 43 after earning his best win on Nov. 3, 2023, at the Georgia Tech Invitational against Mississippi St.'s No. 46 Nemanja Malesevic.
Ryan Colby is currently the second highest-ranked singles player on the team at No. 56. The Southern California transfer has 13 singles wins on the year with an impressive 6-1 mark against ranked opponents.
In doubles, freshmen Freddy Blaydes and Niels Ratiu have been Georgia's choice on court one, where they are 2-1 and earned the point-clinching win in the team's opening match ITA Kickoff Weekend, where they beat Louisiana's Vasil Dimitrov and Mason Landreth by a 6-4 score.
Dawgs and Demon Deacons: Georgia and Wake Forest have played 20 matches against each other with the Bulldogs holding the series edge, 16-4. The programs have played just four times this century, though, with the Demon Deacons winning each meeting by a 4-3 result. Georgia's last win over Wake Forest was on March 20, 1988, by an 8-1 score in Athens.
Classic City Colby: Colby has started the dual-match season in impressive fashion. The junior has primarily played on court two for the first time in his career, where he is 4-1, winning three matches in straight sets. He has won five of his last seven singles matches, including three in a row against ranked opponents.
Colby ended the fall with career-best singles and doubles rankings of No. 36 and No. 25 with Ratiu respectively. He earned his highest-ranked win at the Longhorn Invitational over No. 17 Micah Braswell to begin his Georgia career. Colby is 6-1 against ranked opponents this year after starting his career 2-3 in his first two seasons.
Last Time Out: The Georgia men's tennis team fell to No. 25 North Carolina, 6-1, at the Chewing Tennis Center on Sunday, Feb. 11.
Georgia (4-3) was unable to take the doubles point after losing matches on courts two and three. Ratiu and Blaydes lost their first match together on court two, 6-4. Colby and Paulsell won for the third time this spring, 6-3, which put the deciding match on court three. It all came down to a breaker, where Cyrus Mahjoob and Miguel Perez Peña led North Carolina's (5-3) Peter Murphy and Patrick Schoen, 3-1, but ultimately fell by a 7-6(3) score.
The Tar Heels jumped out to a 3-0 lead after picking up straight-set wins on courts six and three in singles competition. No. 68 Paulsell and No. 44 Colby won their first sets, while on courts four and five Ratiu and Blaydes each dropped a breaker to fall behind in their matches. North Carolina went on to clinch the match on court four where No. 75 Karl Poling beat Ratiu by a 7-6(6), 6-4 score. The teams played out the remaining matches, where No. 44 Colby notched his sixth-ranked win of the year in three sets over No. 60 Benjamin Kittay, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3.
Dawgs in the Rankings: In the first 75-team Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings of the year, Georgia moved to No. 40 with a 4-3 record. Twelve of the Bulldogs' remaining 16 matches are against teams in the top 40 in the current poll. Georgia is one of nine Southeastern Conference teams in the top 40 – No. 5 Tennessee, No. 6 Kentucky, No. 12 Texas A&M, No. 14 South Carolina, No. 18 Alabama, No. 24 Mississippi State, No. 31 Vanderbilt and No. 36 LSU.
The Bulldogs currently have three players in the ITA singles rankings. For the first time in his collegiate career, No. 54 Paulsell is the highest-ranked player on the team after beginning the season with three wins on court one. He is closely followed by No. 56 Colby, who is 4-1 on court two. Junior No. 77 Perez Peña rounds out the ranked singles players for Georgia.
In doubles, No. 37 Colby and Ratiu, the lone ranked tandem among the Bulldogs, are currently 8-3 together.
Scouting the Demon Deacons: After reaching the semifinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, Wake Forest rose to No. 3 in the team rankings. The Demon Deacons beat No. 13 Michigan and No. 14 Arizona before falling to No. 2 TCU. With a 9-3 record, the team also has wins over No. 20 Florida, Illinois, No. 9 Columbia and No. 4 South Carolina
Filippo Moroni is Wake Forest's highest-ranked singles player at No. 25 with a 3-5 mark on court one. No. 53 Dhakshineswar Suresh, who is 3-3 on court two, is the only other player in the top 100 on the team. No. 112 Franco Capalbo and No. 117 Luciano Tacchi have both played most of their completed matches on court four.
The Cavaliers' lone representatives in the doubles rankings are No. 3 Dhakshineswar Suresh and Holden Koons with an 18-3 record this year.
Diaz Announces Retirement: Legendary men's tennis head coach Manuel Diaz, the SEC's all-time leader in career wins who has guided Georgia to 29 conference championships, four NCAA national titles and a pair of ITA indoor national championships in 36 years, announced on Thursday, Feb. 22, that he will retire after the current 2023-24 season.
Diaz has a 46-year association with the Georgia men's tennis program. He was a two-time All-American during his playing days from 1972-75 and then served on Coach Dan Magill's staff as an assistant/associate head coach from 1982-88. He has been a part of each of Georgia's national championship teams and has won SEC Championships in each of the last five decades.
"It's a difficult decision to step away from something that has been such a huge part of my life and that I've loved for so long," Diaz said. "Georgia tennis has given me so much, and I want to thank all our fans from all over the world."
Diaz has been at the helm of the Georgia men's tennis program since the 1988-89 season, following the retirement of his mentor, Dan Magill. During his tenure, Diaz has established the Bulldogs as a blueblood in the sport, capturing four NCAA Team Championships while appearing in the NCAA finals 11 times and winning two Intercollegiate Tennis Association Team National Indoor Championships.
Georgia has reached the NCAA Tournament in all 35 seasons under his leadership, advancing to the quarterfinals in 27 of those trips to the postseason. His players have captured eight individual NCAA Championships — three in doubles and five in singles. Most recently, Ethan Quinn won the NCAA singles title in 2023. Diaz has led the program to 10 SEC Tournament titles and 19 regular season crowns. Every four-year letterman has won at least one SEC Championship ring while playing at Georgia for Coach Diaz.
With 771 victories to date, Diaz is the all-time winningest coach in SEC history. He has been awarded seven conference Coach of the Year trophies, eight ITA Southeast Region Coach of the Year honors and three ITA National Coach of the Year awards.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Bulldogs by following UGA Men's tennis on Facebook, Instagram and X @UGATennis or check out information online at georgiadogs.com.
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