No. 8 Bulldogs Drop 4-3 Decision to Alabama

Friday, March 6

Athens, Ga.

5:30 p.m.

University of Georgia

Alabama

March 06, 2026 | Men's Tennis

ATHENS, Ga. --- After moving the match indoors due to inclement weather, the Georgia men's tennis team dropped a 4-3 decision to Alabama on Friday night at the Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Facility.

FAST FACTS:

The Bulldogs won the doubles point with wins on court two and three. Will Jansen and Gabriele Vulpitta defeated their opponent 6-2 before Derrick Chen and Noah Johnston clinched the point 6-4.
Sophomore Gabriele Vulpitta added a point for Georgia in singles after being the first to finish on court six 6-0, 6-1.
Freshman Noah Johnston extended the lead to 3-0 with a win on court five, 7-5, 6-0, before Alabama grabbed a point from court three.

Arda Azkara on court one, Will Jansen on court two, and Derrick Chen on court four were all tied 5-5 in the second set after losing their first set. Jansen and Chen dropped their matches. With the score knotted at three, Azkara forced a third set after a second set tiebreak. Azkara lost in the third set.

RESULTS:
Georgia 3, Alabama 4

Doubles

#43 Arda Azkara/Santiago Giamichelle (UGA) vs. Vit Kalina/ Andrii Zimnokh (UA) 5-5 uf
Will Jansen/Gabriele Vulpitta (UGA) def. Jacob Olar/Matic Kriznik (UA) 6-2
Derrick Chen/Noah Johnston (UGA) def. Rohan Hazratwala/Brenan Loh (UA) 6-4

Singles

Vit Kalina (UA) def. #32 Arda Azkara (UGA) 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-1
Andrii Zimnokh (UA) def. #34 Will Jansen (UGA) 6-4, 7-5
#75 Matic Kriznik (UA) def. #81 Santiago Giamichelle (UGA) 6-4, 6-3
Yoshka Sborowsky (UA) def. Derrick Chen (UGA) 7-6 (3), 7-5
#120 Noah Johnston (UGA) def. Carlos Gimenez Perez (UA) 7-5, 6-0

Gabriele Vulpitta (UGA) def. Rohan Hazratwala (UA) 6-0, 6-1

QUOTES
Head Coach Jamie Hunt
"Credit to Alabama. I thought they played a heck of a match, but we've got to be better. I thought we played great doubles. Got back on track there. I thought we were exceptional on five and six. One through four, we just couldn't get anything going tonight. The effort was there. The fight was there. The competitive spirit was there, but we've got to be better when we get the opportunity to keep the momentum on our side. It starts with executing the basics. First serves, returns, discipline with our shot selection. We've got to be better in all those areas. It's a disappointing, tough loss, but every match in the SEC is tough, and we've got a ton of opportunities ahead of us. We've got to get back on the horse and we will tomorrow."