Georgia Upsets No. 5 LSU to Open SEC Play

Saturday, February 21

Athens, Ga.

1:00 p.m.

University of Georgia

LSU

February 21, 2026 | Men's Tennis

ATHENS, Ga. --- After a rain delay, the University of Georgia men's tennis team upset No. 5 LSU, 4-0, to open SEC play at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on Saturday afternoon.

FAST FACTS:

The Bulldogs went up 1-0 on the Tigers after winning the doubles point. Will Jansen and Gabriele Vulpitta defeated their opponent 6-1 on court two before Arda Azkara and Santiago Giamichelle clinched the point on court one, 6-4.
Freshman Noah Johnston was the first to add a singles point from court five, 6-1, 6-2.
Graduate Derrick Chen made it 3-0 with a win on court four, 6-3, 6-2.
Sophomore Gabriele Vulpitta clinched the win from court six, 6-2, 6-4.

This marks the Bulldogs' eighth shutout win of the season and second upset over a top 20 team.

RESULTS:
Georgia 4, LSU 0

Doubles

#64 Arda Azkara/Santiago Giamichelle (UGA) def. Sasa Markovic/Andrej Loncarevic (LSU) 6-4
Will Jansen/Gabriele Vulpitta (UGA) def. #63 Matias Ponce De Leon/Erik Arutiunian (LSU) 6-1
Derrick Chen/Noah Johnston (UGA) vs. Enzo Kohlmann/Olaf Pieczkowski (LSU) 5-6 unfinished

Singles

#42 Arda Azkara (UGA) vs. Olaf Pieczkowski (LSU) 7-5, 2-3 unfinished
#30 Will Jansen (UGA) vs. #53 Erik Arutiunian (LSU) 3-6, 4-3 unfinished
#60 Santiago Giamichelle (UGA) vs. #102 Andrej Loncarevic (LSU) 4-6, 3-3 unfinished
Derrick Chen (UGA) def. Enzo Kohlmann (LSU) 6-3, 6-2
Noah Johnston (UGA) def. Sasa Markovic (LSU) 6-1, 6-2

#77 Gabriele Vulpitta (UGA) def. Matias Ponce De Leon (LSU) 6-2, 6-4

QUOTES
Head coach Jamie Hunt
"I want to start off by thanking our support staff that spent about two hours out here drying the courts and getting this place ready to play this match. We have the greatest people here that invest in our student-athletes and care so much. I really want to thank that group. I want to give it up to Dawg Nation, putting up with the almost hour and a half rain delay to show up and provide a great atmosphere for us really set the stage for a great day.

I'm super proud of my guys. Tremendous performance against a top five team in the country, a really talented team. But honestly I'm not surprised. This team has been doing all the right things. They've been working hard. They've been putting in the time and coming together. And that's the Georgia Way. That's how we do things. I'm not surprised. We have to carry that belief and that hunger and chip on our shoulder into Monday's match against a really good Florida team. We have to be ready to play. We'll come back ready to work and prepare for Monday."