University of Georgia Athletics
Friday, September 13
Athens, Ga.
University of Georgia
vs
Southern Intercollegiates
Oscar Pinto Sansano during practice at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex
Photo by: Sofia Yaker/UGAAA
Georgia Opens Fall Campaign at the Southern Intercollegiate Championships
September 11, 2024 | Men's Tennis
ATHENS, Ga. – The Georgia men's tennis team will begin fall play from September 13-15 with the 56th annual Southern Intercollegiate Championships at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. The Bulldogs will face athletes from eight different NCAA Division 1 programs in a compass-style tournament format over the course of the weekend.
Friday, Sept. 13 – Sunday, Sept. 15
Daily Match Start Time: 9 a.m. ET
Tournament Central Page: https://georgiadogs.com/news/2024/9/6/2024-mens-tennis-southern-intercollegiates
Instagram: @UGATennis | X: @UGATennis | Facebook: @UGAMensTennis
BULLDOGS BULLETIN
The First Serve: The 56th annual Southern Intercollegiate Championships this weekend will kick-off another much-anticipated campaign for the Bulldogs. Under the new leadership of head coach Jamie Hunt, Georgia men's tennis will look to extend its storied history in search of a ninth NCAA team title.
The tournament will feature several ITA nationally-ranked players in both singles and doubles. A complete list is compiled below:
Singles
Clemson: No. 51 Wissam Abderrahman
Columbia: No. 2 Michael Zheng, No. 74 Nicolas Kotzen and No. 98 Hugo Hashimoto
South Carolina: No. 117 Jelani Sarr
Doubles
Clemson: No. 5 Maxwell Smith and Noa Vukadin
Columbia: No. 21 Michael Zheng and Hugo Hashimoto
Georgia Tech: No. 56 Richard Biagiotti and Krish Arora
Rank the Dawgs: Four Bulldogs were ranked in the top 100 of the preseason ITA singles rankings to begin the fall season. Thomas Paulsell leads the group with a career-best and team-high No. 14 position in the first edition. Ryan Colby settles in at No. 28 with Miguel Perez Peña and Oscar Pinto Sansano following just behind at No. 64 and No. 86, respectively.
In the doubles rankings, Freddy Blaydes and Niels Ratiu both earned a career-high ranking of No. 2. Paulsell and Colby featured at No. 33, and the Spanish duo of Perez Peña and Pinto Sansano come in at No. 44.
Offseason Competition: Several Bulldogs enjoyed eventful summers along the junior circuit.
Ratiu qualified for the M25 Duffel tournament back home in Brussels, Belgium and advanced to the round of 16. Blaydes and his brother, a member of the Auburn men's tennis program, took home the men's doubles title at the M15 Monastir in Tunisia. Cyrus Mahboob advanced to the quarterfinals of the B18s US Nationals tournament in Kalamazoo, MI., and Colby reached the quarterfinals of the Huntsville 15K.
New Faces, New Places: The Bulldogs welcomed several new faces to Athens for the 2024-25 season. Freshman Aidan Atwood and VCU transfer Oscar Pinto Sansano will join the ranks for the fall campaign. Atwood, a five-star recruit from Suwanee, Ga., held a career-best ITF Junior world ranking of 2,588 and was named the Forsyth County News Boys Tennis Player of the Year in 2022. Pinto Sansano began his collegiate career at Arkansas and compiled a 7-14 singles dual match record before spending transferring to VCU for two seasons. With VCU, Pinto Sansano held a 20-5 overall singles dual match record and was ranked as high as No. 31 in ITA doubles ranking. Prior to his collegiate career, he was regarded as the No. 53 junior in UTR world rankings.
Bryce Warren was promoted to associate head coach leading into the season after returning to Athens in 2024 as an assistant coach. Further, new assistant coach Bruno Tiberti joined the program after spending time on the staff at UT-Arlington.
Last Season Recap: Georgia men's tennis opened the fall tournament season at the Longhorn Invitational, hosted by the University of Texas. Colby headlined the weekend finishing 3-0 in singles competition with wins over ranked opponents and taking home the tournament title.
At the Southern Intercollegiate Championships, Paulsell defeated teammate Perez Peña to take the red draw while Colby and Ratiu claimed the doubles title.
Perez Peña impressed at the ITA Southeast Regional Championship after winning the singles draw, earning a berth in the ITA National Fall Championships. His victory marked the second consecutive year that a Bulldog took home singles honors at the regional championships and the sixth time since 2013.
The Bulldogs concluded fall action at the Georgia Tech Invitational. The team earned four singles wins on the final day of competition, and freshman Parker Mariencheck registered an undefeated weekend in singles play.
Before beginning the dual-match season, the Bulldogs recorded action in one final tune up at the Gamecock Invitational, hosted by the University of South Carolina. Ratiu finished undefeated in both competitions during the weekend, and the team returned to Athens with 11 singles wins.
Georgia finished the dual-match season 14-12 overall with a 5-7 conference record. The Bulldogs found much success at the Dan Magill Complex, boasting a 9-6 home record including four sweeps.
In the SEC tournament, the team fell in its first match up against Arkansas by a 4-1 decision. The Bulldogs earned a spot in the NCAA tournament but lost by a 4-3 margin to Arizona State in the first round at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex.
Four Bulldogs were selected to compete in the NCAA single and doubles tournament following the conclusion of the dual-match season. Paulsell and Colby featured in the singles tournament, and the duo of Blaydes and Ratiu competed in the doubles tournament.
Head Coach Jamie Hunt: Jamie Hunt, who was part of Georgia's 2007 and 2008 NCAA National Championship teams as a player and served seven years on the Georgia men's tennis staff as an associate head coach, was tabbed to lead the Bulldogs' men's tennis program on Feb. 27, 2024.
Since returning to Athens in 2017, Hunt has twice been named the ITA Southeast Region Coach of the Year and helped the Bulldogs capture the 2023 SEC Championship with a perfect league record.
Hunt played for Coach Diaz from 2007-2010 and helped lead Georgia to a pair of national championships. Following his playing career, Hunt made his way to Nashville to become an assistant coach at Vanderbilt.
Hunt was a star tennis player and leader for the Bulldogs' tennis program from 2007 through 2010. His 116 singles wins rank 12th all-time in school history for the four-time All-SEC selection, while his combined singles and doubles record of 238-80 ranks third in the Georgia record book.
Hunt and his wife Kyndal Edwards Hunt met as seniors at the University of Georgia and have five children: Daughter Blakely, son Hayes, twins -- daughter Macy and son Hudson -- and son Ford.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Bulldogs by following UGA men's tennis on social media on X and Instagram @UGATennis, on Facebook @UGAMensTennis and on the web at GeorgiaDogs.com.
Friday, Sept. 13 – Sunday, Sept. 15
Daily Match Start Time: 9 a.m. ET
Tournament Central Page: https://georgiadogs.com/news/2024/9/6/2024-mens-tennis-southern-intercollegiates
Instagram: @UGATennis | X: @UGATennis | Facebook: @UGAMensTennis
BULLDOGS BULLETIN
The First Serve: The 56th annual Southern Intercollegiate Championships this weekend will kick-off another much-anticipated campaign for the Bulldogs. Under the new leadership of head coach Jamie Hunt, Georgia men's tennis will look to extend its storied history in search of a ninth NCAA team title.
The tournament will feature several ITA nationally-ranked players in both singles and doubles. A complete list is compiled below:
Singles
Clemson: No. 51 Wissam Abderrahman
Columbia: No. 2 Michael Zheng, No. 74 Nicolas Kotzen and No. 98 Hugo Hashimoto
South Carolina: No. 117 Jelani Sarr
Doubles
Clemson: No. 5 Maxwell Smith and Noa Vukadin
Columbia: No. 21 Michael Zheng and Hugo Hashimoto
Georgia Tech: No. 56 Richard Biagiotti and Krish Arora
Rank the Dawgs: Four Bulldogs were ranked in the top 100 of the preseason ITA singles rankings to begin the fall season. Thomas Paulsell leads the group with a career-best and team-high No. 14 position in the first edition. Ryan Colby settles in at No. 28 with Miguel Perez Peña and Oscar Pinto Sansano following just behind at No. 64 and No. 86, respectively.
In the doubles rankings, Freddy Blaydes and Niels Ratiu both earned a career-high ranking of No. 2. Paulsell and Colby featured at No. 33, and the Spanish duo of Perez Peña and Pinto Sansano come in at No. 44.
Offseason Competition: Several Bulldogs enjoyed eventful summers along the junior circuit.
Ratiu qualified for the M25 Duffel tournament back home in Brussels, Belgium and advanced to the round of 16. Blaydes and his brother, a member of the Auburn men's tennis program, took home the men's doubles title at the M15 Monastir in Tunisia. Cyrus Mahboob advanced to the quarterfinals of the B18s US Nationals tournament in Kalamazoo, MI., and Colby reached the quarterfinals of the Huntsville 15K.
New Faces, New Places: The Bulldogs welcomed several new faces to Athens for the 2024-25 season. Freshman Aidan Atwood and VCU transfer Oscar Pinto Sansano will join the ranks for the fall campaign. Atwood, a five-star recruit from Suwanee, Ga., held a career-best ITF Junior world ranking of 2,588 and was named the Forsyth County News Boys Tennis Player of the Year in 2022. Pinto Sansano began his collegiate career at Arkansas and compiled a 7-14 singles dual match record before spending transferring to VCU for two seasons. With VCU, Pinto Sansano held a 20-5 overall singles dual match record and was ranked as high as No. 31 in ITA doubles ranking. Prior to his collegiate career, he was regarded as the No. 53 junior in UTR world rankings.
Bryce Warren was promoted to associate head coach leading into the season after returning to Athens in 2024 as an assistant coach. Further, new assistant coach Bruno Tiberti joined the program after spending time on the staff at UT-Arlington.
Last Season Recap: Georgia men's tennis opened the fall tournament season at the Longhorn Invitational, hosted by the University of Texas. Colby headlined the weekend finishing 3-0 in singles competition with wins over ranked opponents and taking home the tournament title.
At the Southern Intercollegiate Championships, Paulsell defeated teammate Perez Peña to take the red draw while Colby and Ratiu claimed the doubles title.
Perez Peña impressed at the ITA Southeast Regional Championship after winning the singles draw, earning a berth in the ITA National Fall Championships. His victory marked the second consecutive year that a Bulldog took home singles honors at the regional championships and the sixth time since 2013.
The Bulldogs concluded fall action at the Georgia Tech Invitational. The team earned four singles wins on the final day of competition, and freshman Parker Mariencheck registered an undefeated weekend in singles play.
Before beginning the dual-match season, the Bulldogs recorded action in one final tune up at the Gamecock Invitational, hosted by the University of South Carolina. Ratiu finished undefeated in both competitions during the weekend, and the team returned to Athens with 11 singles wins.
Georgia finished the dual-match season 14-12 overall with a 5-7 conference record. The Bulldogs found much success at the Dan Magill Complex, boasting a 9-6 home record including four sweeps.
In the SEC tournament, the team fell in its first match up against Arkansas by a 4-1 decision. The Bulldogs earned a spot in the NCAA tournament but lost by a 4-3 margin to Arizona State in the first round at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex.
Four Bulldogs were selected to compete in the NCAA single and doubles tournament following the conclusion of the dual-match season. Paulsell and Colby featured in the singles tournament, and the duo of Blaydes and Ratiu competed in the doubles tournament.
Head Coach Jamie Hunt: Jamie Hunt, who was part of Georgia's 2007 and 2008 NCAA National Championship teams as a player and served seven years on the Georgia men's tennis staff as an associate head coach, was tabbed to lead the Bulldogs' men's tennis program on Feb. 27, 2024.
Since returning to Athens in 2017, Hunt has twice been named the ITA Southeast Region Coach of the Year and helped the Bulldogs capture the 2023 SEC Championship with a perfect league record.
Hunt played for Coach Diaz from 2007-2010 and helped lead Georgia to a pair of national championships. Following his playing career, Hunt made his way to Nashville to become an assistant coach at Vanderbilt.
Hunt was a star tennis player and leader for the Bulldogs' tennis program from 2007 through 2010. His 116 singles wins rank 12th all-time in school history for the four-time All-SEC selection, while his combined singles and doubles record of 238-80 ranks third in the Georgia record book.
Hunt and his wife Kyndal Edwards Hunt met as seniors at the University of Georgia and have five children: Daughter Blakely, son Hayes, twins -- daughter Macy and son Hudson -- and son Ford.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Bulldogs by following UGA men's tennis on social media on X and Instagram @UGATennis, on Facebook @UGAMensTennis and on the web at GeorgiaDogs.com.
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