University of Georgia Athletics
Rojas Adding Plenty To No. 1 Bulldogs
March 11, 2025 | Women's Tennis, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
The Georgia women's tennis team didn't exactly have a lot of holes to fill in its roster when it signed Sofia Rojas after last season — a season in which the Bulldogs won SEC regular-season and tournament titles and reached the finals of the NCAA tournament.
The Bulldogs were bringing all of their regular contributors back from the stellar 2024 campaign, but Georgia coach Drake Bernstein wasn't content with just running it back in 2025.
"It's not so much about everybody's coming back, we're good," he said. "It's, how do we continue to improve this product?"
The product is looking darn good at the moment. Georgia already has two national championships in the 2024-25 season: an NCAA singles title won by senior Dasha Vidmanova and last month the Bulldogs won the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. Since the dual-match season started in January, Rojas has been invaluable and undefeated. She's won all nine of her completed matches, including all four at the National Indoors.
"I had a lot of fun at the Indoors," said Rojas, from Lawrenceville, Ga. "I just felt really happy being able to give a point to the team every match."
Just because you have everyone back doesn't mean everyone will be available. The Bulldogs have battled some significant injuries this season, which has made the addition of Rojas even more important. At the National Indoors, Rojas won all of her matches at the No. 6 singles spot and was as valuable as anyone in helping win the program's seventh National Indoor title.
"Her presence, having her around and able to get in and contribute the way that she has, that has been huge for us," Bernstein said.
And given how loaded the SEC is, with seven teams among the top 13 in this week's ITA rankings, the top-ranked Bulldogs need every talented and experienced player on the court they can get. And Rojas is both of those things and more.
"I think she brings a good energy. She's fun, she makes people laugh, and she's a great competitor," Bernstein said. "There are a lot of qualities about her that make Georgia a better team. ... She also has a lot of experience; it's not like she's a freshman — she's been in college for two years elsewhere and now, it's not like we're having to teach her to do something for the first time."
Rojas said she knew Bulldogs Mell Reasco and Guillermina Grant a little before she arrived at UGA, and she said she felt welcomed by the players and the coaches right away.
"The transition from a coaching standpoint has been a really positive change," she said. "You can tell that they really care about you as a person first, and they don't put too much pressure on you. ... It's really good to be in an environment where you feel comfortable and feel like you're surrounded by friends."
Rojas said she didn't feel pressure to contribute right away after joining such an accomplished team, but being around the rest of the Bulldogs has made her better — and she's contributed plenty already. She was up 3-2 in the third set Sunday when play was stopped after Georgia clinched a 4-0 win over then-No. 6 Tennessee. The 12-1 Bulldogs (5-0 SEC) have already played eight teams currently ranked in the ITA's Top 25.
During her two seasons at Oklahoma State, Rojas had a combined record of 14-11 in singles. She played as high as No. 3 in the singles lineup as a sophomore, and in her time at OSU she posted singles wins over the Nos. 3 and 20 players in the country.
Rojas is a high achiever in the classroom, as well. She was a member of the National Honor Society and she was the valedictorian of her graduating class at Inspiration Academy in Bradenton, Fla. She's earned academic honors throughout her time in college, as well.
The common ground between Rojas' on-court success and her achievement in the classroom may be her competitiveness. She likes to compete and be in the thick of things with a lot on the line.
"Drake always tells me that it's not my forehand or serve that's my biggest strength, it's my competitiveness," she said. "I really enjoy it. I think when the matches are very tight, that's when I'm having the most fun."
In her time in Athens, Rojas said her game has improved overall. There have been no radical changes, just subtle improvements to what she already did, she said.
"I feel like the coaching staff has done a good job of just making me do what I do well even better," she said. "So just like accentuating what I do best, not really adding anything new, but making my strengths even stronger."
And that's essentially what the addition of Rojas has done for the Bulldogs. Without her, Georgia would still be among the top teams in the country. With her, as they've shown, they're even better.
Staff Writer
The Georgia women's tennis team didn't exactly have a lot of holes to fill in its roster when it signed Sofia Rojas after last season — a season in which the Bulldogs won SEC regular-season and tournament titles and reached the finals of the NCAA tournament.
The Bulldogs were bringing all of their regular contributors back from the stellar 2024 campaign, but Georgia coach Drake Bernstein wasn't content with just running it back in 2025.
"It's not so much about everybody's coming back, we're good," he said. "It's, how do we continue to improve this product?"
The product is looking darn good at the moment. Georgia already has two national championships in the 2024-25 season: an NCAA singles title won by senior Dasha Vidmanova and last month the Bulldogs won the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. Since the dual-match season started in January, Rojas has been invaluable and undefeated. She's won all nine of her completed matches, including all four at the National Indoors.
"I had a lot of fun at the Indoors," said Rojas, from Lawrenceville, Ga. "I just felt really happy being able to give a point to the team every match."
Just because you have everyone back doesn't mean everyone will be available. The Bulldogs have battled some significant injuries this season, which has made the addition of Rojas even more important. At the National Indoors, Rojas won all of her matches at the No. 6 singles spot and was as valuable as anyone in helping win the program's seventh National Indoor title.
"Her presence, having her around and able to get in and contribute the way that she has, that has been huge for us," Bernstein said.
And given how loaded the SEC is, with seven teams among the top 13 in this week's ITA rankings, the top-ranked Bulldogs need every talented and experienced player on the court they can get. And Rojas is both of those things and more.
"I think she brings a good energy. She's fun, she makes people laugh, and she's a great competitor," Bernstein said. "There are a lot of qualities about her that make Georgia a better team. ... She also has a lot of experience; it's not like she's a freshman — she's been in college for two years elsewhere and now, it's not like we're having to teach her to do something for the first time."
Rojas said she knew Bulldogs Mell Reasco and Guillermina Grant a little before she arrived at UGA, and she said she felt welcomed by the players and the coaches right away.
"The transition from a coaching standpoint has been a really positive change," she said. "You can tell that they really care about you as a person first, and they don't put too much pressure on you. ... It's really good to be in an environment where you feel comfortable and feel like you're surrounded by friends."
Rojas said she didn't feel pressure to contribute right away after joining such an accomplished team, but being around the rest of the Bulldogs has made her better — and she's contributed plenty already. She was up 3-2 in the third set Sunday when play was stopped after Georgia clinched a 4-0 win over then-No. 6 Tennessee. The 12-1 Bulldogs (5-0 SEC) have already played eight teams currently ranked in the ITA's Top 25.
During her two seasons at Oklahoma State, Rojas had a combined record of 14-11 in singles. She played as high as No. 3 in the singles lineup as a sophomore, and in her time at OSU she posted singles wins over the Nos. 3 and 20 players in the country.
Rojas is a high achiever in the classroom, as well. She was a member of the National Honor Society and she was the valedictorian of her graduating class at Inspiration Academy in Bradenton, Fla. She's earned academic honors throughout her time in college, as well.
The common ground between Rojas' on-court success and her achievement in the classroom may be her competitiveness. She likes to compete and be in the thick of things with a lot on the line.
"Drake always tells me that it's not my forehand or serve that's my biggest strength, it's my competitiveness," she said. "I really enjoy it. I think when the matches are very tight, that's when I'm having the most fun."
In her time in Athens, Rojas said her game has improved overall. There have been no radical changes, just subtle improvements to what she already did, she said.
"I feel like the coaching staff has done a good job of just making me do what I do well even better," she said. "So just like accentuating what I do best, not really adding anything new, but making my strengths even stronger."
And that's essentially what the addition of Rojas has done for the Bulldogs. Without her, Georgia would still be among the top teams in the country. With her, as they've shown, they're even better.
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
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