University of Georgia athletics

ATHENS, Georgia. The No. 43 Georgia men's tennis team will begin Southeastern Conference play on the road this weekend, traveling to face No. 5 Tennessee on Friday, March 1 at 4:30 p.m. ET and the No. 26 Mississippi State on Sunday, March 3 at 2 p.m. p.m.

No. 43 GEORGIA AGAINST. No. 5 TENNESSEE
Date:March 1, 2024
Time:4:30 p.m. ET
Location:Knoxville, TN.
Place:Goodfriend Tennis Center
Live stats:https://gado.gs/8ut
Live Video:https://gado.gs/5at

No. 43 GEORGIA AGAINST. No. 26 STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
Date:March 3, 2024
Time:2 p.m. ET
Location:Starkville, miss.
Place:Rula Tennis Pavilion
Live stats + video:https://gado.gs/8ok

MEDIA INFORMATION
Georgia season stats:https://gado.gs/b9y
Tennessee season stats:https://gado.gs/bh0
Mississippi State season stats:https://gado.gs/bgz

BULLDOGS NEWSLETTER
Classic Colby Town: Ryan Colby started the doubleheader season in impressive fashion. The junior primarily played on court two for the first time in his career, where he is 5-1, winning four matches in straight sets. He has won seven of his last nine singles matches, including four in a row against ranked opponents.

Colby finished the fall with career-best singles and doubles rankings of 36th and 25th with Niels Ratiu respectively. He earned his highest-ranked victory at the Longhorn Invitational against No. 17 Micah Braswell to begin his career at Georgia. Colby is 7-1 against ranked opponents this year after starting his career 2-3.

Last release:The No. 40 Georgia men's tennis team fell to No. 3 Wake Forest, 5-2, on Monday, Feb. 26, at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

Georgia got the doubles point to start the match. No. 37 Colbyand Ratiup picked up where he left off, winning on court two for his first victory since January 6. On court three,Cyrus MahjoubAndMiguel Pérez Peña completed doubles and cruised to a 6-3 victory for the Bulldogs' fourth doubles point of the year. In singles, Colby earned his fourth straight ranking victory and his seventh of the year. The junior beat No. 53 Dhakshineswar Suresh, 7-5, 7-6(5), on court two.

Guys in the ranking:Georgia enters the week ranked 43rd nationally by the ITA. The Southeastern Conference has 11 schools in the top 50.

Three of the Georgian players remain ranked in singles, with Thomas Paulsell at the top of the list rankings at #54. He is joined by No. 56 Colby and No. 77 Perez Peña. In doubles, Colby (37th) and Ratiu, the Bulldogs' only ranked tandem, are currently 9-3 together.

Looking for volunteers:Tennessee entered this week's ITA team rankings at No. 5 at 11-3 overall. All three Volunteer losses occurred on the road.

Currently ranked No. 7 in the ITA singles poll, Johannus Monday is 10-2 in singles action on the first court. No. 27 Shunsuke Mitsui plays court two for the Volunteers and holds a 9-2 record in dual matches. Concurrent with Monday, graduate student Angel Diaz is playing on the first doubles court and is currently ranked No. 8 in the nation overall.

MSU Bulldogs Scouting:MSU now sits in 26th place in the team rankings after winning four straight games. The Bulldogs hold an 8-3 record, falling to VCU, No. 25 Florida State and Middle Tennessee.

On a roster made up largely of underclassmen, No. 23 sophomore Petar Jovanovic has the best singles performance. He holds a career record of 38-14 with a 5-7 mark in SEC play. In doubles, Jovanovic and Mississippi State's Benito Sanchez Martinez are the only pair on the list ranked 42nd.

Diaz announces his retirement:Legendary head coach of men's tennis Manuel Diazthe SEC's all-time leader in career wins who guided Georgia to 29 conference championships, four NCAA national titles and two ITA indoor national championships in 36 years, announced Thursday (22 February that he would retire after the current 2023-24 season.

Diaz has been associated with the Georgia men's tennis program for 46 years. He was a two-time All-American during his playing career from 1972 to 1975, then served on coach Dan Magill's staff as an assistant/associate head coach from 1982 to 1988. He was a part of each of Georgia's national championship teams and won SEC championships in each of the last five decades.

“It’s a difficult decision to walk away from something that’s such an important part of my life and that I’ve loved for so long,” Diaz said. “Georgian tennis has given me so much and I would like to thank all our fans around the world.”

Diaz has been at the helm of the Georgia men's tennis program since the 1988-89 season, following the retirement of his mentor, Dan Magill. During his tenure, Diaz established the Bulldogs as a blue blood in the sport, winning four NCAA team championships while appearing in the NCAA finals 11 times and winning two NCAA indoor team national championships. Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

Georgia reached the NCAA Tournament in all 35 seasons under his watch, advancing to the quarterfinals in 27 of those postseason trips. His players have won eight individual NCAA championships, three in doubles and five in singles. More recently, Ethan Quinn won the NCAA singles title in 2023. Diaz led the program to 10 SEC tournament titles and 19 regular season crowns. Every four-year letterman won at least one SEC championship ring while playing at Georgia for Coach Diaz.

With 771 wins to date, Diaz is the winningest coach in SEC history. He received seven conference Coach of the Year trophies, eight ITA Southeast Region Coach of the Year awards and three ITA National Coach of the Year awards .

Hunt named next head coach:Former American and National Bulldog ChampionJamie Hunthas been named the next head coach of the Georgia men's tennis program and will begin serving in that role at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season, J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Josh Brooks announced Tuesday, Feb. 27 .

Hunt is currently in his seventh season as associate head coach on Georgia's staff. Hunt will become the third head coach in the program's modern history dating back to 1955, replacing the legendaryManuel Diazwho recently announced his retirement.

Hunt played for Coach Diaz from 2007-2010 and helped Georgia win two national championships. He returned to his alma mater in 2017 to serve as the program's associate head coach and recruiting coordinator.

Under Hunt's leadership, Georgia has signed a top-10 class in all but one season, the No. 2 class in 2018, the No. 3 class in 2019, the No. 10 class in 2021 and, most recently, the top-ranked class of 2023. recruiting success has translated to the court.

During the 2022-23 campaign, Hunt helped Georgia win a Southeastern Conference championship with a perfect 12-0 mark in league play. The Bulldogs advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals and freshmenEthan Quinnwon the program's fifth NCAA singles title, joining all-time greats Mikael Pernfors (1984, 1985) and Matias Boeker (2001, 2002).

Stay up to date with all the latest Bulldogs news and information by following UGA men's tennis on Facebook, Instagram and X @UGATennis or check out information online at georgiadogs.com.