Bulldogs Keep Adding To ‘Pit’ Legacy
May 10, 2025 | Women's Tennis, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Depth is often the difference in college tennis. The team with the most talent throughout the lineup, not just at the top where the highest-ranked players are, is the team that usually comes out on top over the course of a long season.
And that brings us to the top-ranked Georgia women's team, which has both top-end talent like 2025 NCAA singles champion Dasha Vidmanova at the No. 1 spot and 2024 NCAA singles runner-up Anastasiia Lopata playing No. 2, while also having players in the "Pit," playing Nos. 4-6, who could play in the top three for a lot of ranked teams. Georgia also has a No. 3 singles player, Mell Reasco, who has been ranked as high as No. 10 in her career, and with Vidmanova is part of the No. 1-ranked doubles team in the country.
The Bulldog Pit crew came through yet again on Friday in the round of 16 of the NCAA tournament. Facing No. 19 California in a Super Regional at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex — where the bottom three courts of Henry Feild Stadium are several feet below the top three, hence the "Pit" — Aysegul Mert at No. 4, Guillermina Grant at No. 5 and Sofia Rojas at No. 6 earned singles wins in Georgia's 4-0 victory.
Rojas is now tied with Vidmanova at a team-high 17 wins in dual-match play. Grant's win Friday was her 16th of the season, and Mert now has 14.
"I think it's super special to compete with Gigi and Ayse in the Pit," Rojas said. "I love having Gigi next to me when we're playing at home, and then when we're away, I usually have Ayse next to me because of the different layouts of the courts at other places. Lately, they've just been reciprocating the energy a lot, and I think it's really special to play next to them."
After Georgia won a tightly-contested doubles point, the No. 42-ranked Mert delivered the first singles win by throttling Passola Folch, 6-1, 6-0. Later, while the matches at Nos. 1-3 were close, Grant, ranked No. 74, made it 3-0 Bulldogs with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Greta Greco Lucchina. That was soon followed by Rojas' clincher, a 6-2, 6-4 win over Naomi Xu.
"We work hard every single day, and we get to practice against some of the best players in the country," Grant said.
While the grandstand always has the most fans sitting in it, there is a loyal contingent that moves down behind courts 4-6 when singles play begins. They're going out of their way to watch the action in the Pit, and the players notice and appreciate it.
"I personally love playing in the Pit," Grant added. "I love getting to see a lot of the same people sitting behind us every match, and seeing a lot of kids running around. It just makes me happy and fires me up."
Seventeen of Georgia's 26 wins this season have been sweeps, including the first three rounds of the NCAA tournament. And the Bulldogs' Pit crew has provided the singles wins in all three NCAA wins so far.
"It's definitely big in the postseason to be playing well across the board, but I think that dividends definitely get paid off in the Pit," said Georgia coach Drake Bernstein, a former Pit player himself for the men's team.
Forty years ago, in 1985, when Georgia's men's team won its first NCAA team title on those same courts, the Bulldogs were built similarly to the 2025 women's team. At No. 1 was the defending NCAA singles champion, Mikael Pernfors; at No. 2 was George Bezecny, who would go on to face Pernfors in the 1985 NCAA singles final; and at No. 3 was Allen Miller, a 1983 NCAA doubles champion and someone who could have played No. 1 for a lot of ranked teams. Pernfors and Miller are in the ITA Men's Hall of Fame.
To win the 1985 team title and bring legendary coach Dan Magill his first NCAA title, Georgia benefited from great depth in the Pit. At No. 4 was Deane Frey, a senior like Pernfors, Bezecny and Miller; at No. 5 was sophomore Philip Johnson, who two years later played No. 1 on Georgia's 1987 NCAA title team; and at No. 6 was freshman Trey Carter, who also helped the Bulldogs win the title two years later while playing No. 4. Facing UCLA for the title in 1985, Georgia got wins in the Pit from Carter and Johnson, with Johnson earning the clinching victory to beat the Bruins 5-1.
Bernstein knows as well as anyone what it means to be part of the Pit crew. Back in 2008, when the Georgia men won the second of back-to-back NCAA titles, Bernstein saw limited action in the Pit during the Bulldogs' run to the title. A year later, he played mostly at No. 5; over Bernstein's final two seasons playing for Georgia, he split time at Nos. 4 and 5.
By the end of his playing career, Bernstein had 112 singles wins. Most of those came in the Pit.
"As someone that lived there for four years, I love to see it," he said of Mert, Grant and Rojas thriving at Nos. 4-6.
Bernstein isn't someone who takes anything for granted, and he wasn't about to take the Golden Bears, or any opponent, lightly.
"We just go play the next match," he said. "That's what this week was; that's what last week was. You just play the match in front of you. And if it tells you anything, we haven't looked at travel plans; we haven't looked at practice for next week. We were just getting ready for this match, and next week will be no different."
Now that a third 4-0 win in as many NCAA matches is in the books and the Bulldogs are headed to Baylor for the rest of the tournament, starting with Thursday's quarterfinal match against No. 8 Duke, Georgia can figure out its travel plans. The Bulldogs are hoping to be there for a few days — and hoping to come home with a big trophy.
If they do, there is a good chance the Pit crew helped make it happen.
Staff Writer
Depth is often the difference in college tennis. The team with the most talent throughout the lineup, not just at the top where the highest-ranked players are, is the team that usually comes out on top over the course of a long season.
And that brings us to the top-ranked Georgia women's team, which has both top-end talent like 2025 NCAA singles champion Dasha Vidmanova at the No. 1 spot and 2024 NCAA singles runner-up Anastasiia Lopata playing No. 2, while also having players in the "Pit," playing Nos. 4-6, who could play in the top three for a lot of ranked teams. Georgia also has a No. 3 singles player, Mell Reasco, who has been ranked as high as No. 10 in her career, and with Vidmanova is part of the No. 1-ranked doubles team in the country.
The Bulldog Pit crew came through yet again on Friday in the round of 16 of the NCAA tournament. Facing No. 19 California in a Super Regional at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex — where the bottom three courts of Henry Feild Stadium are several feet below the top three, hence the "Pit" — Aysegul Mert at No. 4, Guillermina Grant at No. 5 and Sofia Rojas at No. 6 earned singles wins in Georgia's 4-0 victory.
Rojas is now tied with Vidmanova at a team-high 17 wins in dual-match play. Grant's win Friday was her 16th of the season, and Mert now has 14.
"I think it's super special to compete with Gigi and Ayse in the Pit," Rojas said. "I love having Gigi next to me when we're playing at home, and then when we're away, I usually have Ayse next to me because of the different layouts of the courts at other places. Lately, they've just been reciprocating the energy a lot, and I think it's really special to play next to them."
After Georgia won a tightly-contested doubles point, the No. 42-ranked Mert delivered the first singles win by throttling Passola Folch, 6-1, 6-0. Later, while the matches at Nos. 1-3 were close, Grant, ranked No. 74, made it 3-0 Bulldogs with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Greta Greco Lucchina. That was soon followed by Rojas' clincher, a 6-2, 6-4 win over Naomi Xu.
"We work hard every single day, and we get to practice against some of the best players in the country," Grant said.
While the grandstand always has the most fans sitting in it, there is a loyal contingent that moves down behind courts 4-6 when singles play begins. They're going out of their way to watch the action in the Pit, and the players notice and appreciate it.
"I personally love playing in the Pit," Grant added. "I love getting to see a lot of the same people sitting behind us every match, and seeing a lot of kids running around. It just makes me happy and fires me up."
Seventeen of Georgia's 26 wins this season have been sweeps, including the first three rounds of the NCAA tournament. And the Bulldogs' Pit crew has provided the singles wins in all three NCAA wins so far.
"It's definitely big in the postseason to be playing well across the board, but I think that dividends definitely get paid off in the Pit," said Georgia coach Drake Bernstein, a former Pit player himself for the men's team.
Forty years ago, in 1985, when Georgia's men's team won its first NCAA team title on those same courts, the Bulldogs were built similarly to the 2025 women's team. At No. 1 was the defending NCAA singles champion, Mikael Pernfors; at No. 2 was George Bezecny, who would go on to face Pernfors in the 1985 NCAA singles final; and at No. 3 was Allen Miller, a 1983 NCAA doubles champion and someone who could have played No. 1 for a lot of ranked teams. Pernfors and Miller are in the ITA Men's Hall of Fame.
To win the 1985 team title and bring legendary coach Dan Magill his first NCAA title, Georgia benefited from great depth in the Pit. At No. 4 was Deane Frey, a senior like Pernfors, Bezecny and Miller; at No. 5 was sophomore Philip Johnson, who two years later played No. 1 on Georgia's 1987 NCAA title team; and at No. 6 was freshman Trey Carter, who also helped the Bulldogs win the title two years later while playing No. 4. Facing UCLA for the title in 1985, Georgia got wins in the Pit from Carter and Johnson, with Johnson earning the clinching victory to beat the Bruins 5-1.
Bernstein knows as well as anyone what it means to be part of the Pit crew. Back in 2008, when the Georgia men won the second of back-to-back NCAA titles, Bernstein saw limited action in the Pit during the Bulldogs' run to the title. A year later, he played mostly at No. 5; over Bernstein's final two seasons playing for Georgia, he split time at Nos. 4 and 5.
By the end of his playing career, Bernstein had 112 singles wins. Most of those came in the Pit.
"As someone that lived there for four years, I love to see it," he said of Mert, Grant and Rojas thriving at Nos. 4-6.
Bernstein isn't someone who takes anything for granted, and he wasn't about to take the Golden Bears, or any opponent, lightly.
"We just go play the next match," he said. "That's what this week was; that's what last week was. You just play the match in front of you. And if it tells you anything, we haven't looked at travel plans; we haven't looked at practice for next week. We were just getting ready for this match, and next week will be no different."
Now that a third 4-0 win in as many NCAA matches is in the books and the Bulldogs are headed to Baylor for the rest of the tournament, starting with Thursday's quarterfinal match against No. 8 Duke, Georgia can figure out its travel plans. The Bulldogs are hoping to be there for a few days — and hoping to come home with a big trophy.
If they do, there is a good chance the Pit crew helped make it happen.
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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