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MTennis: UGA swept Louisiana, 4-0, in its opening match of the ITA Kickoff Weeken

Weather Alert

Due to weather in the Athens area, day one of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Kickoff Weekend Athens regional has been moved to the Duckworth Family Indoor Tennis Facility in Clemson, S.C. 

Sunday’s match between No. 18 Texas A&M and Auburn will now be played at 12:30 p.m. ET, with No. 19 Georgia’s tilt against Louisiana to follow. No changes are currently planned for Monday’s consolation and championship matches, set to be played at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

The Bulldogs will play either Auburn or No. 18 Texas A&M on Jan. 29, with the consolation match scheduled for 11 a.m. and the championship at 2:30 p.m. Matches played against Southeastern Conference teams in ITA events will not count towards the programs’ conference record. 

The 19^th-ranked Georgia men’s tennis team swept Louisiana, 4-0, in its opening match of the ITA Kickoff Weekend on Sunday afternoon at the Duckworth Family Indoor Tennis Facility.

The match was highlighted by junior No. 41 Thomas Paulsell who earned the third match-clinching victory of his career on court one. With the win, the Bulldogs (3-0) advance to the final and will face No. 18 Texas A&M for a spot in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Flushing, N.Y. on Monday at 2:30 p.m. ET at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. 

“I thought we played a great match today and I’m super proud of our guys,” head coach Manuel Diaz said. “Our doubles play today was great. It was a job well done by Louisiana. They made it tough on us – in four of the first sets, they played extraordinarily well. We’re happy to be going back home and getting to play in front of our fans tomorrow. Texas A&M is a very good team, so this will be a big challenge. I am excited to see our Bulldog faithful out at Dan Magill Tennis Complex tomorrow afternoon.”

Georgia began the match by defeating Louisiana (0-4) in doubles competition to take a 1-0 lead heading into singles action. On court two, Ryan Colby and Paulsell went up two breaks early on Alejandro Sanchez Gonzalez and Leonard Tramolay, ultimately winning their third match together, by a 6-2 score. The freshmen tandem of Freddy Blaydes and Niels Ratiu would go on to earn the first point-clinching win of their careers together on court one, winning the match, 6-4.

In singles action, the Bulldogs won first sets on all six courts. Blaydes took his third-straight singles match in straight sets with a 6-1, 6-1 decision on court six. The Windermere, England native has dropped just nine games across three matches in the dual-match season. No. 36 Colby notched the 11^th singles win of his Georgia career on court two over Vasil Dimitrov by a 7-5, 6-3 score. Despite falling behind 4-1 in the first set, No. 41 Paulsell fought back to win 12 of the final 16 games, winning his second singles match on the top court and securing the Bulldogs’ win. 

Tomorrow’s tilt against a Southeastern Conference team in the ITA event will not count towards the programs’ conference records. Georgia is 8-7 all-time against Texas A&M. The Bulldogs beat the Aggies twice last season, winning 5-2 during the regular season on March 9, 2022, and in a 4-0 sweep during the second round of the SEC Championship on April 22, 2022. 

No. 19 Georgia 4, Louisiana 0

Doubles Competition

-CT 1: Freddy Blaydes/Niels Ratiu (UGA) def. Vasil Dimitrov/Mason Landreth (UL) 6-4*

-CT 2: Thomas Paulsell/Ryan Colby (UGA) def. Leonard Tramolay/Al Sanchez Gonzalez (UL) 6-2

-CT 3: Miguel Perez Peña/Cyrus Mahjoob (UGA) vs. Oriol Fillat Gimenez/William Ribero (UL) 5-4, unfinished

Order of finish: 2, 1*

Singles Competition

-CT 1: No. 41 Thomas Paulsell (UGA) def. Al Sanchez Gonzalez (UL) 7-5, 6-3*

-CT 2: No. 36 Ryan Colby (UGA) def. Vasil Dimitrov (UL) 7-5, 6-2

-CT 3: No. 43 Miguel Perez Peña (UGA) vs. William Ribero (UL) 6-0, 4-6, 0-1, unfinished

-CT 4: Niels Ratiu (UGA) vs. Oriol Fillat Gimenez (UL) 7-6 (7-5), 4-1, unfinished

-CT 5: No. 112 Cyrus Mahjoob (UGA) vs. Alejo Ferrer Chueca (UL) 7-5, 4-1, unfinished

-CT 6: Freddy Blaydes (UGA) def. Mason Landreth (UL) 6-1, 6-1

Order of finish: 6, 2, 1*

WBB: Georgia travels to Auburn tonight

Georgia (10-9, 1-5 SEC) at Auburn (13-6, 2-4 SEC)

Monday, Jan. 29 || 7 p.m. ET || Neville Arena (9,121) || Auburn, Ala. || SEC Network

TV: SEC Network (Sam Gore and Steffi Sorensen)

Listen: Jeff Dantzler (GeorgiaDogs.com, 960 AM The Ref or 103.7 FM)

Opening Tip

» Georgia comes back from its bye week for a road test at Auburn on Monday at 7 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast nationally on the SEC Network.  

» The Lady Bulldogs won both meetings against the Tigers last season and have won five of the last six in the series that dates back to 1975. Georgia leads the overall series, 35-20. 

» Fifth-year forward Javyn Nicholson leads Georgia this season. She has scored in double figures in every game, and her 11 double-doubles are tied for second most in the SEC. 

» Fifth-year guard Taniyah Thompson has started four-straight games, scoring in double figures in all four contests. She has averaged 13.8 ppg and his hit 48 percent from the field in this current four-game stretch. 

» Junior guard Asia Avinger ranks sixth in the SEC with 4.4 assists per game. She has totaled five or more dimes 10 times this season. 

» Senior forward and Georgia’s second-leading scorer Zoesha Smith is out for the year after suffering a knee injury against Alabama on Jan. 11. 

» Georgia’s bench averages 22.3 ppg — the fourth-best average in the SEC this season. 

» Georgia is in its second season under the leadership of Coach ABE. ABE’s successful first year included a NCAA tournament appearance, 22 wins, and a fifth-place finish in the final SEC standings. 

» The Lady Bulldogs were the only SEC squad to not have a single player enter the transfer portal this past offseason. 

»  Coach ABE’s teams have won 20 or more games in 11-straight seasons, while her 12 NCAA tournament appearances rank third among active SEC coaches, only behind Kim Mulkey (

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