University of Georgia Athletics
Sunday, March 10
Athens, Ga.
1 p.m.
University of Georgia
3
vs
4
No. 35 Auburn
Photo by: Conor Dillon/UGAAA
Georgia Splits Doubleheader, Beats Georgia State
March 10, 2024 | Men's Tennis
ATHENS, Ga. – The No. 48 Georgia men's tennis team split its doubleheader on Sunday afternoon, sweeping Georgia State, 4-0, after dropping a 4-3 decision to No. 35 Auburn at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
In the first match of the day against Auburn (11-5, 1-1 SEC), Niels Ratiu defeated Raul Dobai, 6-3, 7-5, for his first win on court three in singles competition. After the Tigers clinched the match, the Bulldogs' (7-7, 1-3 SEC) No. 65 Ryan Colby earned his ninth-ranked win of the season, good for the second-most in the Southeastern Conference.
"All of our guys played their hearts out today," head coach Manuel Diaz said. "It was a great collegiate match. It did not go our way, but I am proud of our guys. They left it all out on the court, Auburn just played a little bit better than we did. We did not play as well in doubles as we should have, and Auburn deserves all the credit for capitalizing on that."
Auburn took the doubles point after winning on courts three and two. Tyler Stice and Will Nolan defeated Mahjoob and Miguel Perez Peña on court three, moving to 4-4 on the year together. On court two, Colby and Ratiu faced a double break point to send the match into a tiebreaker but were unable to extend the contest.
Georgia moved into singles and took four first sets to swing momentum in its favor. Ratiu earned the team's first point of the day with a straight-set victory in a 6-3, 7-5 decision, which marked his first win on court three. After Auburn regained the match lead with a win on court six, Mahjoob took his match by a 6-4, 6-4 score, marking his 11th straight-set win of the year.
Auburn earned match point after Perez Peña dropped his match on court four and clinched it after No. 48 Tyler Stice defeated No. 65 Paulsell in a hard-fought three-set match on court one. To cap off singles, No. 65 Colby narrowly beat No. 73 Finn Murgett, 7-5, 5-7, 7-6(8), with the contest needing a staggering 2 hours and 45 minutes to decide a victor.
"Niels played really well today," Coach Diaz said. "Cyrus played a tremendous match, catching a break in the first set. He has been playing at a high level all season and is always a great competitor. Ryan has been playing good, clutch sets all year. We obviously wish it was three all and not the match already being clinched. We lost a close one, but we will learn from it and improve."
After starting the second match of the day in doubles competition against Georgia State (5-9), Ratiu and Colby took the lead quickly and won, 6-1, on court two. Paulsell and Blaydes clinched the doubles point over on court one, 7-6(5), clinching the point for the first time together and awarding the Bulldogs the lead.
Georgia capped off its 10th sweep of Georgia State with wins on courts two, five and four to close out the day. Mahjoob confirmed the win for the Bulldogs in straight sets, taking down Diogo Morais, 6-3, 6-2.
Georgia will play host to No. 12 Texas for its next match on Thursday, March 14 at 5 p.m. at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. The last three meetings between Georgia and Texas have been decided by a 4-3 result, with the Longhorns winning two of the three. The Bulldogs lead the series 17-7 all-time.
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 the web at GeorgiaDogs.com.
In the first match of the day against Auburn (11-5, 1-1 SEC), Niels Ratiu defeated Raul Dobai, 6-3, 7-5, for his first win on court three in singles competition. After the Tigers clinched the match, the Bulldogs' (7-7, 1-3 SEC) No. 65 Ryan Colby earned his ninth-ranked win of the season, good for the second-most in the Southeastern Conference.
"All of our guys played their hearts out today," head coach Manuel Diaz said. "It was a great collegiate match. It did not go our way, but I am proud of our guys. They left it all out on the court, Auburn just played a little bit better than we did. We did not play as well in doubles as we should have, and Auburn deserves all the credit for capitalizing on that."
Auburn took the doubles point after winning on courts three and two. Tyler Stice and Will Nolan defeated Mahjoob and Miguel Perez Peña on court three, moving to 4-4 on the year together. On court two, Colby and Ratiu faced a double break point to send the match into a tiebreaker but were unable to extend the contest.
Georgia moved into singles and took four first sets to swing momentum in its favor. Ratiu earned the team's first point of the day with a straight-set victory in a 6-3, 7-5 decision, which marked his first win on court three. After Auburn regained the match lead with a win on court six, Mahjoob took his match by a 6-4, 6-4 score, marking his 11th straight-set win of the year.
Auburn earned match point after Perez Peña dropped his match on court four and clinched it after No. 48 Tyler Stice defeated No. 65 Paulsell in a hard-fought three-set match on court one. To cap off singles, No. 65 Colby narrowly beat No. 73 Finn Murgett, 7-5, 5-7, 7-6(8), with the contest needing a staggering 2 hours and 45 minutes to decide a victor.
"Niels played really well today," Coach Diaz said. "Cyrus played a tremendous match, catching a break in the first set. He has been playing at a high level all season and is always a great competitor. Ryan has been playing good, clutch sets all year. We obviously wish it was three all and not the match already being clinched. We lost a close one, but we will learn from it and improve."
After starting the second match of the day in doubles competition against Georgia State (5-9), Ratiu and Colby took the lead quickly and won, 6-1, on court two. Paulsell and Blaydes clinched the doubles point over on court one, 7-6(5), clinching the point for the first time together and awarding the Bulldogs the lead.
Georgia capped off its 10th sweep of Georgia State with wins on courts two, five and four to close out the day. Mahjoob confirmed the win for the Bulldogs in straight sets, taking down Diogo Morais, 6-3, 6-2.
Georgia will play host to No. 12 Texas for its next match on Thursday, March 14 at 5 p.m. at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. The last three meetings between Georgia and Texas have been decided by a 4-3 result, with the Longhorns winning two of the three. The Bulldogs lead the series 17-7 all-time.
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 the web at GeorgiaDogs.com.
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