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WTEN: UGA (#1) Hosts Cal (#19) Today
The No. 1 Georgia women’s tennis team (25-3, 13-2 SEC) is set to host its final home match of the season when it faces No. 19 California (15-8, 9-3 ACC) in the NCAA Super Regional today at 4 p.m. ET at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Fast Facts
- The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 13-7 against the Golden Bears.
- Friday’s match will mark a second consecutive season with Georgia and California meeting in the NCAA Super Regional round. The Bulldogs took a 4-2 victory over the Golden Bears in Athens last season.
- Georgia is undefeated in tournament-style competition this spring, going 9-0 between winning the 2025 ITA National Team Indoor Championships, the 2025 SEC Tournament, and the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
- After reaching the title match last season, the Bulldogs will look to make another deep run in the NCAA Tournament. In program history, when winning the SEC Tournament, Georgia has won the NCAA Championship once (1994), finished runner-up once (2024) while reaching the semifinals three times (2001, 2009, and 2023), quarterfinals three times (2007, 2014, and 2021), and round of 16 once (2008).
- A victory against California would see Georgia advance to the NCAA quarterfinals for a third consecutive season.
Match 29 – No. 1 Georgia vs No. 19 California (NCAA Super Regional)
Date: Friday, May 9, 2025
Time: 4 p.m. ET
Location: Athens, Ga.
Site: Dan Magill Tennis Complex
Cracked Racquets Stream: https://gado.gs/d65
Live Video/Stats: https://gado.gs/outdoorlive
Dawgs in the Polls
No. 1 Georgia enters the weekend with six Bulldogs listed in the latest ITA player rankings. In singles, Dasha Vidmanova heads the top of the list at #2, followed by Anastasiia Lopata at #17, Aysegul Mert at #42, and Guillermina Grant at #74. In doubles, Vidmanova and Mell Reasco slot in at #1, followed by Grant and Mert at #29, before rounding out with Lopata and Grant at #68.
Last Time Out
The No. 1 Georgia women’s tennis team (25-3, 13-2 SEC) punched its ticket to the NCAA Super Regionals after knocking off No. 29 Georgia Tech (14-12, 6-6 ACC), 4-0, in the NCAA Regional second round at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on Saturday. The victory marked the program’s 100th NCAA Tournament win as the Bulldogs improved to 32-6 all-time against the Yellow Jackets, winning each of their last eight meetings while taking 14 of the previous 16 matches. Georgia earned the doubles point to open the afternoon as the #68 tandem of Guillermina Grant and Anastasiia Lopata struck first with a 6-4 win over Kate Sharabura and Alejandra Cruz on court two. On court three, Aysegul Mert and Hayden Mulberry came out on top after defeating Taly Licht and Given Roach, 6-4, to earn the doubles point for the Bulldogs. #74 Grant was the first to finish in singles, defeating Licht, 6-3, 6-3, on court five to double Georgia’s lead to 2-0. #42 Mert was next to cross the finish line, earning a 6-2, 6-3 win over Roach on court four to put the Bulldogs one point away from victory. Sofia Rojas closed out the afternoon with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Olivia Carneiro on court six for the clinch to send the Bulldogs to the Super Regionals.
Scouting the Opponent
No. 19 California heads into Athens with a 15-8 overall record after going 9-3 in the ACC, good for a tie for fifth in the conference standings. Following a quarterfinal exit at the ACC Tournament, the Golden Bears have won back-to-back matches against Sacramento State before upsetting 16-seeded regional hosts Washington in Seattle via a 4-0 sweep. Led by head coach Amanda Augustus in her 18th season at the helm, California will look to build on momentum with four wins in its last five outings. The Golden Bears have four players listed in the latest ITA rankings. In singles, Mao Mushika leads the way at #32, followed by Lan Mi at #44, Jessica Alsola at #59, and Katja Wiersholm at #79. In doubles, the Golden Bears don two pairs in Mushika/Alsola at #4 and Mushika/Wiersholm at #38.
MBB: Justin Bailey Signs with UGA
Justin Bailey, who helped lead Wofford to an NCAA Tournament bid during the 2025 season, has signed to play for the Georgia Bulldogs next season, head coach Mike White announced on Thursday.
Bailey, a 6-3, 185-pound guard from Taylors, S.C., will be a senior for the 2025-26 campaign. He played his first two seasons at USC Upstate before transferring to Wofford. Over those three campaigns, Bailey has started 74 of 94 games played and compiled 1,020 points (10.6 ppg), 318 rebounds (3.3 rpg), 133 steals (1.4 spg) and 128 assists (1.3 apg). He has shot 43.8 percent from the field, including 36.8 percent from 3-point range, and 75.7 percent at the line. Bailey has notched 54 double-figure scoring outputs, led by a trio of 20-points performances.
Last season, Bailey was named to the Southern Conference’s All-Defensive team and averaged 9.6 points and 3.5 rebounds in 27.1 minutes of action per game for the Terriers. He posted a career-high 22 points at Chattanooga and enjoyed a stellar performance against Furman in the Southern Conference Tournament title tilt, scoring 19 points and grabbing a career-high seven boards as Wofford earned its first NCAA bid since 2019.
Bailey was selected to the Big South Conference’s All-Freshman team and was a three-time Big South Freshman of the Week during the 2022-23 season when he helped the USC Upstate’s Spartans earn a bid to the CBI. He averaged 10.6 points and 3.1 rebounds in his initial season before upping those contributions to 11.8 points and 3.3 boards as a sophomore. At Upstate, Bailey posted best outings of 21 points against Kennesaw State and seven rebounds versus Radford during his sophomore year.
Bailey enjoyed a stellar prep career at Blue Ridge High School, culminating with earning being named 2022 South Carolina High Class 3A Player of the Year after leading the Fighting Tigers to their first ever state championship. He also was named the All-Upstate Player of the Year and Greenville County Player of the Year as a senior and was tabbed all-state by the South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association as both a junior and a senior. Bailey wrapped up his high school career with 1,926 points (23.6 ppg), 736 rebounds (9.0 rpg), 333 assists (4.1 apg) and 232 steals (2.8 spg).
Bailey arrives in Athens after Georgia enjoyed its best season in a decade during last winter. The Bulldogs secured their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2015 and finished 20-13 overall. Georgia also won a school-record 15 games at Stegeman Coliseum and improved to 41-13 (.759) in the arena during White’s three seasons at UGA.
The Bulldogs did so facing one of the nation’s most challenging schedules last winter. Georgia played a nation-leading eight regular-season games versus top-10 competition, with five of those outings on the road. All told, 20 of the Bulldogs’ 33 games – 60.6 percent – were against other NCAA Tournament teams. The Bulldogs posted victories over teams ranked No. 1 (Florida), No. 11 (St. John’s) and No. 12 (Kentucky) in the final AP poll.
Georgia is slated to return six letterwinners from last season’s team, led by starters Blue Cain and Dylan James as well as Justin Abson, Somto Cyril, Jaden Newell and Brandon Klatsky.
Bailey is the fifth newcomer set to join the Bulldogs in the fall.
Jeremiah Wilkinson, the 2025 ACC Sixth Man of the Year at Cal, signed with Georgia out of the transfer portal.
In the fall, the Bulldogs signed three high school prospects who are ranked as the No. 18 class in the nation by 247Sports.com, as well as No. 20 by ESPN.com. Jackson McVey is a 7-1 center from Eliijay, Ga., who played at Overtime Elite this season and is ranked No. 194 in the On3Sports.com industry comparison. Kareem Stagg is a 6-8 power forward from Chesapeake, Va., who played for IMG Academy as a junior and senior and is ranked as high as No. 68 nationally by 247Sports.com. Jacob Wilkins, the son of Bulldog legend and Naismith Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins, is a 6-9 small forward from Loganville, Ga., and Grayson High School who is ranked as high as the No. 35 prospecting the Class of 2025 by Rivals.com.
BSB: Dawgs Open Bama Series in Tuscaloosa Tonight
NOTICE
Due to the high probability of inclement weather on Saturday, top-ranked Georgia and No. 23 Alabama will now begin their SEC series with a doubleheader Friday at 5 p.m. ET. Game two of the series will take place 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one. Both games on Friday are scheduled for nine innings.
The Bulldogs enter the series with a 39-11 mark including 15-9 in the SEC while Alabama is 37-12 overall, 13-11 in the SEC. Fans can tune in to watch the Bulldogs on SEC Network+ and listen on the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.
Fans with tickets for Friday’s original game will receive access to both games of the doubleheader this evening. Game three of the series is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Sat., May 10. Attendees with tickets for Saturday and Sunday can gain entry into Sewell-Thomas Stadium for Saturday’s game, with those holding tickets for Saturday having seat priority.
Top-ranked Georgia returns to SEC action on the road Friday night as it faces 23rd-ranked Alabama.
Friday and Saturday’s games will be streamed on SEC Network+, while Sunday’s contest will be featured on the SEC Network at 1 p.m. ET. The entire series will be available on the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.
In year two under Ike Cousins head baseball coach, Wes Johnson, the Bulldogs (39-11, 15-9 SEC) have been a consensus top 10-ranked team all season and are as high as No. 1 (Baseball America, Perfect Game) in a pair of polls this week. The Bulldogs, who rank No. 2 in RPI by the NCAA, are 27-3 at home, 9-8 on the road, and 3-0 at neutral sites this season.
In the series history, Georgia holds an 80-74-2 edge over UA in games dating to 1904. The Bulldogs swept the Crimson Tide last year in Athens and claimed the previous series in Tuscaloosa (2-1 in 2022). Georgia had no midweek games while UA posted a 10-2 road win over No. 19 Troy.
The Bulldogs are batting .287 with a .562 slugging percentage and an NCAA-leading 119 home runs. The team’s leading hitters are Ryland Zaborowski (.372-16-58, .822 SLG%), Slate Alford (.338-15-55), and Robbie Burnett (.315, SEC-leading 19 home runs plus 61 RBI). Due to an elbow injury, Zaborowski has missed the past four games. Burnett is on pace to become the first Bulldog since first-rounder Gordon Beckham (Chicago White Sox) in 2008 to lead the team with double-digit home runs and stolen bases. Beckham had an NCAA-best 28 home runs and 17 stolen bases, leading Georgia to the CWS Finals.
Alford, a senior native of Madison, Ala., is the team’s top hitter in SEC action at .340-9-20. Alford has a team-best 33-game on-base streak and has reached base in 49 of 50 games this season. He is one of two Bulldogs (Kolby Branch-SS) who have started all 50 games this year.
UA is batting .289 with a .504 slugging percentage and 82 home runs. The leading hitters for the Crimson Tide are Kade Snell (.394-9-44), Richie Bonomolo Jr. (.326-6-41, 15 SB), and Justin Lebron (.309-16-62, 14 SB). Snell went 4-for-5 with five RBI in the win over Troy.
The Bulldogs have posted a 4.72 ERA with 522 strikeouts and 220 walks. Opponents are batting .227 against Georgia. Last week, the pitching staff posted an SEC-best 1.75 ERA, going 4-0 and allowing just seven earned runs in that stretch. UA has a 4.74 ERA with 447 strikeouts and 186 walks this season. Opponents are batting .253 against UA with 45 home runs.
Georgia’s fielding percentage is among the nation’s best at .982, while UA is fielding .978.
UGA-UA Pitching Matchups
Fri.: Brian Curley (3-2, 2.96 ERA), Jr., RHP vs. TBA
Sat.: TBA vs. TBA
Sun..: Leighton Finley (2-1, 4.82 ERA), Jr., RHP vs. TBA
Radio/TV/Live Stats Links
Download the official App of the Georgia Bulldogs
https://georgiadogs.com/feature/mobile-app
Live Stat Links For UA Series:
https://rolltide.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
Friday @ 7:02 p.m. EDT
Radio: 960TheRef (Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston)
https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4822&type=Live
TV: SEC Network+ (Chris Stewart & Alan Dunn)
https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/f3c48f98-484a-4d13-9afa-c4fb1ca5b127
Saturday @ 5:02 p.m. EDT
Radio: 960TheRef (Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston)
https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4823&type=Live
TV: SEC Network+ (Chris Stewart & Alan Dunn)
https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/7d46f26d-32ef-4c8a-b919-fedd7f9ea9be
Sunday @ 1:02 p.m. EDT
Radio: 960TheRef (Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston)
https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4824&type=Live
TV: SEC Network (Victor Rojas & Chris Burke)
https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/d8ec5159-8d2d-459a-9c31-f2e6b9863b74
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