The Georgia men’s tennis team will be represented in the NCAA Singles Championship by Thomas Paulsell and in the doubles championship by Freddy Blaydes and Niels Ratiu, with action set to kick off tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET at the Greenwood Tennis Center in Stillwater, Okla.
NCAA SINGLES AND DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIPS
Tournament Central: https://gado.gs/bwm
Singles Draw: https://gado.gs/bwl
Doubles Draw: https://gado.gs/bwk
BULLDOGS BULLETIN
Paulsell in Singles Tournament: In his first year playing in the singles lineup, junior Paulsell earned an at-large selection in the NCAA Singles Championships. The junior will play in his round of 64 match against Boise State’s Samuel Sippel on Monday at 10 a.m. ET.
He played on court one in all but one completed match this season, picking up eight wins, after only seeing action in nine dual matches in the first two seasons. He finished with six wins against ranked opponents after only beating one ranked opponent in his first two seasons, five of which came against SEC competition.
Paulsell peaked in singles rankings at No. 36 heading into the tournament, his career best. His highest-ranked win came versus the No. 46 ranked singles player twice this year – Nemanja Malesevic of Mississippi State and Filip Planinsek of Alabama.
Sippel enters the tournament with an 18-16 singles record and an 11-11 mark in dual match action. A senior, Sippel earned All-Mountain West honors in singles after all 11 of his wins in the spring came on court one, including three versus ranked opponents.
Blaydes and Ratiu in Doubles Tournament: Freshmen Blaydes and Ratiu, the team’s leader in double wins together, earned an at-large selection after finishing 11-5 on court one with seven ranked wins. The Bulldog tandem will battle Old Dominion’s Codie Van Schalkwyk and Connor Van Schalkwyk on Tuesday, May 21 in the round of 32.
Blaydes and Ratiu are currently stand at No. 22 in the ITA Doubles Poll, their career-best ranking. The pair have won five of their last six matches, with their previous five coming against ranked opponents.
The Van Schalkwyk brothers ended the season 11-6 on the year, splitting the eight doubles matches they played on court one together. The pair is 1-1 against ranked opponents.
Back-to-Back: For the second consecutive season, Georgia will be represented by at least three players from its roster for the NCAA singles and doubles tournament. Last year, Phillip Henning earned a berth into the singles tournament, alongside freshman Ethan Quinn. Quinn, who turned pro following the conclusion of the 2022-2023 season, was also featured in the doubles tournament alongside Trent Bryde.
Henning was also defeated in the first of the singles tournament by Miami’s Dan Martin, but Quinn advanced to win the singles national title, defeating Michigan’s Ondrej Styler in a thrilling 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 6-2 match to earn the program’s fifth singles national championship.
Tournament History: Georgia has recorded five NCAA singles national titles. Mikael Pernfors and Matias Boeker each earned two titles each, with Pernfors winning in 1984 and 1985 and Boeker winning in 2001 and 2002. Quinn added the fifth in 2023.
Six different Bulldogs have won the NCAA doubles national title with Ola Malmqvist and Allen Miller reaching the podium in 1983, followed by Matias Boeker and Travis Parrott in 2001 and most recently by John Isner and Antonio Ruiz in 2005.
In all, Georgia boasts eight titles in the singles and doubles tournament to couple with its six NCAA team national titles.
Dawgs in the Rankings: In singles, Paulsell leads the team with a No. 36 ranking, which set a new career best. The junior plays on court one and has won six matches against ranked opponents this season. He is followed by No. 69 Ryan Colby, who leads the team in ranked wins with nine, which was good for third-most in the SEC to cap off the regular season.
Blaydes and Ratiu lead the team in doubles on the court and in the rankings. The pair plays on court one and is ranked No. 22, earning career bests for both freshmen. Blaydes and Ratiu’s highest-ranked win came on March 24 when they beat No. 29 Bozo Barun and Jared Horwood of Arkansas by a 6-2 score.
Paulsell Earns All-SEC Honors: Paulsell was named to the All-Southeastern Conference Second Team, the league office announced on Thursday, April 25. This marks the first time Paulsell has earned an All-SEC nod in his collegiate career, becoming the 109th Bulldog to be named to an all-conference team.
This season, Paulsell anchored the Bulldogs on court one with eight victories in SEC competition, six of which came against ranked opponents. On the season, the tournament-bound junior notched 15 singles wins.
Last Time Out: Georgia fell in the first round of the 2024 NCAA team tournament to Arizona State at Winston-Salem Regional by a 4-3 decision on May 3.
Tournament-bound Freddy Blayes and Niels Ratiu defeated No. 40 Murphy Cassone and Jacob Bullard 6-3 on court one, and Ryan Colby and Thomas Paulsell clinched the doubles point on court two.
Georgia picked up wins on courts two and six, but the Bulldogs were unable to overcome the Sun Devils throughout the rest of the singles competition to take the contest.
New at the Helm: Former Bulldog All-American and National Champion Jamie Hunt has 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 on Tuesday, Feb. 27.
Hunt is currently in his seventh season as the associate head coach on Georgia's staff. Hunt will become the third head coach in the modern history of the program dating back to 1955, replacing the legendary Diaz, who recently announced his retirement.
Assistant coach Bryce Warren has also been promoted to associate head coach for the upcoming season. Warren has been a member of the Bulldogs’ staff for the past year after returning to Athens from Arizona, where he served as the associate head coach for the men’s tennis team. The 2024-25 season will mark his fourth season on the Bulldogs staff, and across his seven seasons of collegiate coaching, his teams have amassed a 134-67 record.
Georgia will be joined by Bruno Tiberti who was announced as an assistant coach on Wednesday. Tiberti has served as the assistant coach at the University of Texas-Arlington since January 2021. During his time on staff with the Mavericks, the program reached the NCAA Tournament in both the 2023 and 2024 seasons, marking the first time the team has reached the event in consecutive seasons since 2000 and 2001. Texas-Arlington went undefeated in conference play and swept the Western Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championships in each of the last two seasons.
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