Jump To Top

WTennis: A come-from-behind win in doubles and victories in the heart of the singles lineup sent fourth-seeded Georgia into the NCAA national semifinals.

With Georgia’s 4-0 win on Wednesday at the USTA National Campus, it marks the program’s 15th appearance in the NCAA semifinals and second in the last four seasons (excluding 2020 COVID year). 

The Bulldogs improve to 26-4 overall and will play No. 1-seed North Carolina in the semifinals Friday at 5:30 p.m. ET. 

“Court three in doubles played great and got us on the board there,” head coach Jeff Wallace said. “Court two was down 4-0, and for those guys to come back and win that tiebreaker, with the way that match played out, that was absolutely huge. 

“Mell did a great job getting a straight-set singles win, and Anastasiia also getting a straight-set singles win, both those matches were tough, hard fought, really great tennis. Meg was battling, gets close in the first set and gets way down and comes back. A fifth year senior against a freshman, that’s kind of what you want to see in that situation. Meg just played absolutely incredible. It’s a nice win, and I thought Michigan played great.”

"Our entire team was fighting out there. Georgia is a special place. I think back to four years ago and my freshman year, and seeing where we've come on this journey is really neat." – @megkowalskiii

📝: https://t.co/LwXatSGsEh#GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/xWlDLu1Il3

— Georgia Women's Tennis (@UGAWomensTennis) May 18, 2023

In doubles, Meg Kowalski and Lea Ma cruised to a 6-1 win at court No. 3, but nothing looked easy at the top two spots, with Georgia trailing 3-1 at No. 1 and 4-0 at No. 2. 

Michigan’s tandem of Jaedan Brown and Andrea Cerdan fought off Georgia’s Mell Reasco and Dasha Vidmanova, 6-4, setting up a deciding match at the second position. 

The Bulldogs’ No. 25-ranked duo of Gigi Grant and Mai Nirundron were down 4-0 and then 5-3 before battling back to force a tiebreaker. In the tiebreaker, Grant and Nirundron won four of the last five points to clinch doubles with a 7-6 (4) victory against Julia Fliegner and Lily Jones. 

Up 1-0, Georgia took first-set wins at all six singles courts, including a trio of tiebreakers at the third, fifth, and sixth spots. 

With the Bulldogs down or even in second and third sets at courts one, two, and six, the match was far from over. No. 81-ranked Anastasiia Lopata delivered the first singles victory for the Bulldogs, using a 6-3, 6-4 triumph to put Georgia up 2-0. 

Then, No. 63-ranked Reasco, who battled through a 12-10 first-set tiebreaker, quickly put the Bulldogs up 3-0 with her 7-6 (10), 6-3 victory at the third singles position. 

Needing just one more court to clinch the match, Kowalski won her 14th-straight match of the season to send Georgia to the semifinals. 

“This is a great feeling,” said Kowalski. “Our entire team was fighting out there. Georgia is a special place. I think back to four years ago and my freshman year, and seeing where we’ve come on this journey is really neat.” 

Friday’s semifinal matchup between No. 4 seed Georgia and No. 1 seed North Carolina will air either on the Tennis Channel or Cracked Racquets. 

Georgia vs Michigan Match Result

#4 Georgia 4, #5 Michigan 0

Singles Results

1. #36 Kari Miller (MICH) vs. #3 Lea Ma (UGA) 0-6, 7-5, 3-0, unfinished

2. #27 Jaedan Brown (MICH) vs. #4 Dasha Vidmanova (UGA) 5-7, 6-1, 1-1, unfinished

3. #63 Mell Reasco (UGA) def. #51 Julia Fliegner (MICH) 7-6 (10), 6-3

4. #81 Anastasiia Lopata (UGA) def. Andrea Cerdan (MICH) 6-3, 6-4

5. #125 Meg Kowalski (UGA) def. #79 Lily Jones (MICH) 7-6 (1), 7-5

6. #113 Gala Mesochoritou (MICH) vs. Gigi Grant (UGA) 6-7 (4), 5-4, unfinished

Doubles Results

1. Jaedan Brown/Andrea Cerdan (MICH) def. Dasha Vidmanova/Mell Reasco (UGA) 6-4

2. #25 Gigi Grant/Mai Nirundorn (UGA) def. Julia Fliegner/Lily Jones (MICH) 7-6 (4)

3. Meg Kowalski/Lea Ma (UGA) def. Merri Kelly/Kari Miller (MICH) 6-1

Match Notes:

Georgia 26-4; National ranking #4

Michigan 25-4; National ranking #5

Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (4,3,5)

Baseball: UGA returns to SEC play today against fifth-ranked LSU

The Bulldogs (28-24, 10-17 SEC) close out the regular season with the Tigers (40-12, 17-9 SEC). Georgia is 9-8 in its last 17 SEC games following a 1-9 start. Georgia looks to earn one of the 12 spots in the SEC Tournament. Ten teams have clinched a spot. The Bulldogs are tied for 11^th in the SEC with Missouri as both are 10-17 in the League, while Miss. State is next at 8-19, and defending national champion Ole Miss has been eliminated from making the tournament. Missouri is at Auburn, while MSU plays host to Texas A&M.

Georgia is 7-5 in SEC home games, including series wins over No. 10 Kentucky, No. 4 Arkansas, and No. 18 Tennessee. Georgia went 3-12 in SEC road games, with the wins coming at No. 2 Florida, Ole Miss, and Auburn. LSU is 7-4 in SEC road games, most recently dropping a series at Auburn earlier this month. Then, LSU lost a home series to Miss. State last weekend. The Tigers beat McNeese State 7-4 Tuesday, while the Bulldogs had their midweek game with Western Carolina rained out.

Series History: LSU leads the series 70-25-2 as it dates to 1975 when the teams met in the SEC Playoffs in a two-game home-and-home series to determine the league champion. The Tigers won both games. LSU claimed the 2022 series in Baton Rouge 2-1 that featured a 4-3 walk-off in the rubber game (2-run HR by Cade Doughty). Georgia last played host to LSU in 2019, and the Bulldogs captured that series 2-1 (L 1-0, W 2-0, W 9-7). Also, Georgia eliminated LSU at the 2021 SEC Tournament with a 4-1 win.

The Rotation: Georgia will start a trio of left-handers for the fourth time in the SEC this season. This will be the fifth different SEC rotation the Bulldogs have employed as junior ace Jaden Woods (3-2, 5.59) has missed the past four series due to bicep tendonitis. Freshman Jarvis Evans (2-0, 4.67) will make his first SEC start on Thursday after registering wins in relief against No. 5 Arkansas and No. 18 Tennessee. The Bulldogs will go with juniors Charlie Goldstein (3-1, 4.50) and Liam Sullivan (4-2, 5.83) on Friday and Saturday. This year, the Bulldogs have a 6.41 ERA with 477 strikeouts and 249 walks. Opponents are batting .271 versus Georgia.

LSU has a 4.68 ERA with 570 strikeouts and 210 walks. Opponents are hitting .226 against the Tigers. The projected premium draft pick in junior RHP Paul Skenes (10-1, 1.69 ERA, 152K, 14 BB in 79.2 IP) will go Thursday. The Tiger starters for the final two games will be junior RHP Ty Floyd (6-0, 4.53) and sophomore LHP Javen Coleman (1-1, 6.00).   

At The Plate: Georgia is batting .289 with 94 home runs, a .387 OB%, and is 33-for-39 in stolen base attempts. Redshirt freshman 1B/OF Charlie Condon is one of the leading hitters in the SEC and chasing the team’s triple crown, batting .415-24-65 and has an SEC-best .850 SLG% (ranks 3rd nationally). Graduate Connor Tate ranks second on the club in batting at .390-15-53. Condon and Tate share the SEC lead in hits with 80 apiece. Parks Harber rounds out this trio of sluggers at .281-17-53. Condon and Tate are the only two Bulldogs to start all 52 games this year.

The Tigers are batting .314 with 104 home runs, a .443 OB%, and are 22-for-30 in stolen base attempts. Their lineup features the league’s top hitter and projected top draft pick in junior Dylan Crews (.438-13-55) plus sophomore Tommy White (.400-18-86) and freshman Jared Jones (.309-14-45).

Senior Day Saturday: Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Senior Day has featured a collection of seniors, graduates, and grad transfers who have the option of being recognized in the final home game regardless of their future plans. On Saturday, nine Bulldogs have elected to be honored: Nolan Crisp (RHP), Will David (INF/C), Charlie Goldstein (LHP), Kyle Greenler (RHP), Bryce Melear (RHP), Michael Polk (RHP), Dalton Rhadans (RHP), Josh Stinson (OF) and Jaden Woods (LHP).

Radio/TV/Live Stats Information

Thursday at 6:02 pm ET (SECN+)

Radio: 960TheRef: https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4410&type=Archive

TV: SEC Network (Matt Stewart & Jason Jacobs): https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=85983558-991a-4d26-b935-f31051c91820

Live Stats: https://georgiadogs.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary

Friday at 6:02 p.m. ET (SECN+)

Radio: 960TheRef: https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4411&type=Archive

TV: SEC Network (Matt Stewart & Jason Jacobs): https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=1715969e-4442-406c-822c-1dd35d7242e4

Live Stats: https://georgiadogs.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary

Saturday at 1:02 p.m. ET (SECN+)

Radio: 960TheRef: https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4412&type=Archive

TV: SEC Network (Matt Stewart & Jason Jacobs): https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=ca009d5d-0edb-490b-936c-67c783e1a410

Live Stats: https://georgiadogs.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary

Tickets/Parking/Promotion Information

*A limited number of tickets are available in the Left Field Bleachers and in the Right Field Bleachers.

*Fans can get seats from other fans through our official secondary ticketing partner StubHub.

*Fans with tickets who are unable to come are encouraged to transfer them to other Bulldog fans, return them to UGAAA or resell them on StubHub.

*Foley Field Gates open one hour before game time.

*Free parking is available in the commuter surface lot behind the outfield. 

*Promotions: Thurs.: (1st 500 fans get a Georgia Sandlot t-shirt); Sat. Senior Day

MGolf: UGA claimed the team and individual championships at the 2023 NCAA Golf Bath Regional on Wednesday

“I am so proud of our guys,” said Georgia head coach Chris Hack following the tournament. “They came into this week knowing what was at stake, and were focused every round. Our goal all year has been to play for the national championship, and now we have a chance to do that. We are looking forward to going back to Grayhawk.”

The Bulldogs earned the team title and first regional title since 2019, with a three-round total of 29-under-par 823 (266-274-283). Fourth-ranked Illinois finished second at 21-under-par 831 (272-278-281), while No. 22 Oregon finished third at 14-under-par 838 (279-274-285), No. 10 Florida finished fourth at 12-under-par 840 (280-284-276) and No. 15 Texas finished fifth at 10-under-par 842 (275-281-286). van Wyk claimed individual medalist honors with a 54-hole score of 10-under-par 203 (65-68-70). 

“It’s great to see the team play to its potential,” said van Wyk. “Everyone on the team is capable of competing with the guy next to them, and we really fed off of one another. We didn’t have the year we expected, but we were clutch when we needed it. We have a lot of momentum going into the most important week of the year, next week in Arizona.”

Sophomore Buck Brumlow paced the Bulldogs with a final round 2-under-par 69, while van Wyk fired a final round of 1-under-par 70. They were followed by senior Connor Creasy and junior Caleb Manuel who each carded rounds of 1-over-par 72, while sophomore Maxwell Ford rounded out the Bulldogs with a final round of 2-over-par 73.

The win marked van Wyk’s first individual title. He was followed by Manuel who finished tied for second with a 54-hole total of 7-under-par 206 (66-68-72), his career-best finish. Ford finished tied for 11th at 4-under-par 209 (71-65-73), while Brumlow finished 2-under-par 211 (68-74-69) and Creasy finished tied for 22nd at 1-under-par 212 (67-73-72).

“It has been a hard last four years for me,” said van Wyk. “I overcame some mental demons, and just tried to react fully today. I couldn’t be happier to celebrate this win with my team.”

Up next, the Bulldogs will head to Scottsdale, Arizona for the NCAA Championships on May 26-31 at Grayhawk Golf Club. 

Since the regional format was introduced in 1988-89, Georgia has advanced to the NCAA Championships 25 times, including 22 of 26 under Coach Haack. Overall, the Bulldogs have earned 51 berths to the NCAA Championship. Haack led the Bulldogs to the 1999 and 2005 national titles, runner-up finishes in 2007 and 2011, and the national semifinals in 2015.

NCAAs will begin with 54-holes of stroke play on May 26-28, with the top-15 teams moving on t a fourth round of stroke play on May 29. The top-eight squads after stroke play will advance to match play. The quarterfinals and semifinals are set for May 3o, while the championship match is slated for May 31. You can follow along at Golfstat.com.

MTennis: No. 6-seed UGA will play in its 33^rd NCAA Tournament quarterfinal in program history against the three-seed Ohio State today at 7:30 p.m. ET

The No. 6-seed University of Georgia men’s tennis team will play in its 33^rd NCAA Tournament quarterfinal in program history against the three-seed Ohio State on Thursday, May 18 at 7:30 p.m. ET at the United States Tennis Association National Campus in Lake Nona, Fla. 

#6 Georgia (22-6, 12-0 SEC) vs. #3 Ohio State (32-2, 9-0 Big Ten)

Round: Quarterfinals

Date: Thursday, May 18, 2023

Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

Location: Lake Nona, Fla.

Venue: USTA National Complex

Tournament Central: https://link.edgepilot.com/s/a52ae797/ctsRqvdlCE6zqT6G0BUAMw?u=https://gado.gs/2n9

Match Notes: https://link.edgepilot.com/s/9e8125e3/NrbwKMTQ-USleyVNA1KN6w?u=https://gado.gs/akx

Live Stats: https://link.edgepilot.com/s/1335c171/_WjlViNwH0aOTUZB5t8wiQ?u=https://gado.gs/akt

CrackedRacquets CrossCourt Cast: https://link.edgepilot.com/s/bccb470f/bKWF-DC3TEu7-3eQLy5dSA?u=https://gado.gs/aky

Tournament Bracket: https://link.edgepilot.com/s/1b30532f/N0H5qAAaBEqfuddkg_VJeA?u=https://gado.gs/akv

Tickets: https://link.edgepilot.com/s/3926d39a/5ZPrwm96o0iaNY4KlkUS2Q?u=https://gado.gs/akz

Georgia Season Stats: https://link.edgepilot.com/s/3dffb3f8/nUsp0O3wp0KCgHQB-_Qd7w?u=https://gado.gs/9xb

Ohio State Season Stats: https://link.edgepilot.com/s/ff27100e/6mH-4bbzAkeEbJmVD5VVQQ?u=https://gado.gs/aku

The Bulldogs advanced to the Elite Eight after winning their first three tournament matches at home, beating Florida Gulf Coast, Oklahoma and Harvard. Georgia capped off a perfect 11-0 home record with an impressive crowd for its NCAA Tournament matches, bringing in a combined 4,582 fans to the Dan Magill Tennis Complex for the postseason matches.

Manny Diaz will look to lead the team to its 19^th semifinal appearance in his career against Ohio State. Between Coach Diaz and Ty Tucker, the head coach of the Buckeyes, the two legendary coaches have won over 1,400 matches during the time leading their respective programs. This will be the 23^rd time the teams have played, with Georgia leading the series 16-6, but the first time the teams have competed in a match in the NCAA Tournament. Ohio State beat East Tennessee State, Louisville and No. 14 Arizona to earn a spot in the quarterfinals.

The Georgia tennis program is seeking its seventh NCAA national championship (1985, 1987, 1999, 2001, 2007, 2008) and ninth team title in history (ITA Indoor National Champions in 2006, 2007). Currently with a 23-6 record, this is now the 17^th time in the Manny Diaz era that the program has finished with at least 23 wins.

32-Time SEC Champions

With the Bulldogs’ win against No. 12 Mississippi State at home on Thursday, April 13, Georgia clinched the outright regular season SEC Championship for the 32^nd time in program history, which leads the SEC. Georgia earned a perfect 12-0 record in conference play for the 16^th time and sixth in the Manny Diaz era. With an 18-5 record, the team finished the regular season with a .783-win percentage, the best since the 2015-16 squad entered the postseason at 18-3, good for a .857 percentage.

NCAA Tournament Success

Since competing in its first NCAA Tournament in 1977, the Georgia men’s tennis program has found immense success. The Bulldogs boast six national titles while making the national championship match 13 times. In total, Georgia has earned 44 tournament appearances and currently holds a 117-39 record in the event. 

Many of those accomplishments have come under Coach Diaz. Under his guidance, Georgia has made 11 NCAA Tournament finals, claiming four national championships, 18 semifinal appearances and 27 quarterfinal matches in 35 seasons at the helm of the program.

Schedule

Wednesday, May 17 (Women’s Quarterfinal)

5 p.m. — No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 5 Michigan

Thursday, May 18 (Men’s Quarterfinal)

7:30 p.m. — No. 6 Georgia vs. No. 3 Ohio State

Friday, May 19 (Broadcasted on the Tennis Channel)

Women’s Semifinal – 5 p.m.

Men’s Semifinal – 7:30 p.m. 

pxp: Sam Gore, analyst: CiCi Bellis, sideline: Blair Henley

Saturday, May 20 (Broadcasted on the Tennis Channel)

Women’s Championship – 5 p.m. 

Men’s Championship – 7:30 p.m. 

pxp: Sam Gore, analyst: CiCi Bellis, sideline: Blair Henley

Ticket Information

Tickets for the Division I men’s and women’s tennis championships are available now. Click here to purchase tickets.

All Tournament Pass is $125 (Includes all matches from May 17-27), a Team Tournament Pass is $75 (Includes all team tournament matches from May 17-20), the Singles & Doubles Pass is $50 (Includes all sessions of individual tournament May 22-27), a Single Session Team Tournament ticket is $20 per day and a Single Session Singles and Doubles will be $10 per day.

Scouting the Field

#6 Georgia (#6 ITA Ranking)

Singles: No. 2 Ethan Quinn (27-10, 17-8 on #1), No. 19 Philip Henning (23-11, 17-6 on #2), No. 106 Blake Croyder (28-14, 13-5 on #4), No. 113 Trent Bryde (21-12, 10-8 on #3)

Doubles: No. 6 Bryde/Quinn (21-14, 17-9 on #1)

#4 Kentucky (#4 ITA Ranking)

Singles: No. 13 Liam Draxl (19-7, 17-7 on #1), No. 18 Alafia Ayeni (19-10, 14-8 on #2), No. 59 Joshua Lapadat (27-5, 20-3 on #3)

Doubles: No. 28 Ayeni/Baadi (8-11, 8-11 on #1)

#7 Michigan (#7 ITA Ranking)

Singles: No. 8 Ondrej Styler (28-4, 11-1 on #1), No. 20 Andrew Fenty (36-8, 5-0 on #3), No. 44 Patrick Maloney (14-3, 5-2 on #2), No. 63 Gavin Young (24-12, 4-1 on #5)

Doubles: No. 7 Fenty/Young (24-6, 15-3 on #1)

#3 Ohio State (#3 ITA Ranking)

Singles: No. 11 Cannon Kingsley (18-5, 9-2 on #2), No. 22 JJ Tracy (27-6, 13-1 on #3), No. 24 Justin Boulais (14-7, 6-4 on #1), No. 34 James Trotter (26-0, 12-0 on #4), No. 41 Alexander Bernard (20-4, 6-1 on #5)

Doubles: No. 16 Lutschaunig/Trotter (12-7, 4-2 on #2), No. 21 Boulias/Cash (21-5, 6-3 on #1)

#2 TCU (#2 ITA Ranking)

Singles: No. 17 Luc Fomba (20-4, 7-1 on #2), No. 21 Jake Fearnley (25-8, 13-6 on #1), No. 62 Sander Jong (19-4, 8-0 on #4), No. 71 Jack Pinnington (7-4, 5-1 on #3), No. 92 Sebastian Gorzny (20-2, 8-1 on #5)

Doubles: No. 2 Fearnley/Fomba (15-3, 7-2 on #1), No. 22 Jong/Maxted (15-6, 4-0 on #3)

#1 Texas (#1 ITA Ranking)

Singles: No. 1 Eliot Spizzirri (33-4, 20-1 on #1), No. 28 Pierre-Yves Bailly (14-8, 11-5 on #2), No. 54 Siem Woldeab (28-10, 10-6 on #4), No. 61 Micah Braswell (16-11, 10-6 on #3)

Doubles: No. 3 Harper/Spizzirri (23-13, 18-9 on #1), No. 75 Bailly/Woldeab (14-9, 13-7 on #2)

#9 South Carolina (#8 ITA Ranking)

Singles: No. 10 Toby Samuel (24-5, 19-4 on #1), No. 16 Connor Thomson (32-6, 18-4 on #2), No. 102 Casey Hoole (28-15, 10-7 on #5), No. 116 James Story (21-12, 3-2 on #3), No. 122 Raphael Lambling (13-11, 2-3 on #4)

Doubles: No. 1 Samuel/Thomson (23-4, 16-4 on #1), No. 48 Beasley/Story (24-11, 15-8 on #2)

#5 Virginia (#5 ITA Ranking)

Singles: No. 9 Chris Rodesch (25-6, 16-1 on #1), No. 26 Inaki Montes (17-7, 8-2 on #2), No. 49 Jeffery von der Schulenburg (19-7, 19-3 on #3), No. 87 Ryan Goetz (25-5, 17-2 on #4)

Doubles: No. 58 Montes/Woodall (4-2, 4-1 on #1)

Jump To Comments