University of Georgia
UNC Wilmington
No. 26 Bulldogs Set For Raleigh Regional, Facing No. 65 UNC-Wilmington
May 02, 2025 | Men's Tennis
RALEIGH, N.C. – The University of Georgia men's tennis team is set for first round action of the NCAA Tournament in the Raleigh Regional against No. 65 UNC-Wilmington tomorrow at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center. Doubles are set to commence at 11:00 a.m. E.T., and the winner of the match will advance to face the victor of host No. 8 N.C. State and S.C. State.
Match 27 - No. 65 UNC-Wilmington
Saturday, May 3, 2025
11:00 a.m. E.T.
J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center
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BULLDOG BULLETIN
The First Serve: The University of Georgia men's tennis is set to face the No. 65 UNC-Wilmington in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament at the Raleigh Regional hosted by No. 8 N.C. State.
This will be the first meeting between the two programs. On the other side of the regional, the Bulldogs hold a 9-3 record against N.C. State and a 4-0 record against South Carolina State.
Georgia's last match against the Wolfpack pitted the No. 7 Bulldogs against No. 24 N.C. State in Raleigh. The home side took the doubles point with wins on courts one and two, yet Blake Croyder/Erik Grevelius defeated Martins Rocens/Fons Van Sambeek, 6-2, on court three. Into singles, Georgia jumped in front 2-1 after a 6-1, 7-5 win on court three over No. 36 Robin Cantry before Tristan McCormick followed up with a 6-4, 7-6(0) victory on court four over Luca Staeheli. The Wolfpack evened things up on court one before No. 23 Phillip Henning slid Georgia back in front with a 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 win on court two. One more win for the home side on court six saw the match come down to court five where No. 110 Croyder defeated Damien Salvestre 6-2, 7-6(10) to clinch the 4-3 come-from-behind win.
The Bulldogs last match against S.C. State was last season at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. Georgia took the doubles point, sandwiching a S.C. State win with a 6-3 victory on court three by Parker Jacques/Davis Taylor and a 7-5 point-clinching win by Freddy Blaydes/Niels Ratiu on court one. Jacques was first off in singles with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Gabriel Johnson on court five before No. 100 Miguel Perez Peña saw off Novak Novakovic on 6-1, 7-6(6) on court one. The visitors grabbed a lone singles win on court six before Freddy Blaydes clinched the 4-1 decision for Georgia on court three, 7-5, 6-2.
UNC-Wilmington enters the NCAA tournament at 12-7 (3-0 CAA) on the back off a fifth consecutive conference title after beating Elon, 4-2, in the CAA championship match. The Seahawks picked up notable wins over Florida Atlantic and Coastal Carolina while dropping a narrow 4-2 match to No. 29 Florida during the regular season. They're represented by No. 104 Sam Nicholson in the ITA singles rankings. UNC-Wilmington has three freshman (Ballantine, Baumgartner and Dean), one sophomore (Domenech), three juniors (de Gabriele, Steffen and Thompson) and five seniors (Huens, Mallory, Nicholson, Vargas and Wayand) on the roster.
Also coming off a fifth-consecutive conference title, S.C. State enters the regional with a 15-3 (5-0 MEAC) mark. This season, the Bulldogs have strong results over Georgia State, Wofford, George Mason, Presbyterian and Furman having dropped a season-opener to the current No. 1 side, Wake Forest. S.C. State is not represented in the ITA singles or doubles rankings. On the roster, the Bulldogs house one freshman (Augunas), four sophomores (Latha, Maratauly, Nieke and Petrov), two juniors (Bankous and Novakovic) and three seniors (Benchakroun, Johnson and Pauliuchenka).
The hosts, No. 8 N.C. State are entering the weekend with a 20-6 (12-1 ACC) record after falling in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament two weeks ago. The Wolfpack have top-25 wins over No. 9 Mississippi State, No. 17 Michigan, No. 8 Kentucky, No. 22 California, No. 6 Stanford, No. 5 Virginia, No. 22 Clemson and the only skid in conference came at home to No. 1 Wake Forest. N.C. State is represented by No. 27 Braden Shick, No. 30 Martin Borisiouk and No. 91 Luca Staeheli in the ITA singles rankings and by No. 6 Schik/Van Sambeek and No. 20 Staehli/Leroux in the doubles rankings. On the roster, N.C. State has two freshman (Benton and Nedelchev), two redshirt freshmen (Leroux and Manning), one junior (Borisiouk) and three seniors (Shick, Staeheli and Van Sambeek).
Prior to the dual match season, the Bulldogs put together several strong performances through the fall. Headlined by Thomas Paulsell's round of 16 run in the NCAA Singles Championships, three Bulldogs (Paulsell, Perez Peña and Pinto Sansano) qualified for the NCAA individual tournament. Paulsell qualified for the championships by way of finishing as a semi-finalist at the ITA Conference Masters Championships in Rome, Ga. Perez Peña qualified after being crowned co-champion of the ITA Southeast Regional, and Pinto Sansano after winning the 5-8 playoff at the ITA South Sectional. Notably, by reaching the round of 16 in the singles tournament, Paulsell was recognized as the program's 55th All-American.
The Bulldogs culled together 77 singles wins in the fall, 13 of which were over ranked opponents. In doubles, Georgia had 24 total wins - eight ranked. The Bulldogs individual records from the fall (spring dual match records in parentheses) are compiled below:
Singles: Overall:
Freddy Blaydes: 5-3 (2-3) 7-6
Ryan Colby: 11-7 (13-6) 24-13
Filipe Costa: 2-5 (3-1) 5-6
Parker Jacques: 5-3 (1-0) 6-3
Cyrus Mahjoob: 6-4 (4-2) 10-6
Parker Mariencheck: 2-5 (1-0) 3-5
Thomas Paulsell: 13-6 (9-8) 22-14
Miguel Perez Peña: 9-6 (13-6) 23-12
Oscar Pinto Sansano: 9-6 (18-6) 27-12
Niels Ratiu: 6-5 (14-7) 20-12
Gabriele Vulpitta: N/A (7-7) 7-7
Doubles (Teams): Overall:
Blaydes/Ratiu: 10-5 (5-4) 15-9
Paulsell/Colby: 7-4 (6-7) 13-11
Perez Peña/Pinto Sansano: 5-5 (N/A) 5-5
Costa/Mahjoob: 2-3 (N/A) 2-3
Jacques/Mariencheck: 0-4 (N/A) 0-4
Ratiu/Vulpitta: N/A (2-0) 2-0
Blaydes/Pinto Sansano: N/A (3-1) 3-1
Perez Peña/Ratiu: N/A (2-4) 2-4
Perez Peña/Jacques: N/A (1-0) 1-0
Paulsell/Pinto Sansano: N/A (3-5) 3-5
Perez Pena/Vulpitta: N/A (8-5) 8-5
Colby/Ratiu: N/A (0-2) 0-2
Pinto Sansano/Ratiu: N/A (1-2) 1-2
Doubles (Players): Overall:
Freddy Blaydes: 10-5 (8-5) 18-10
Ryan Colby: 7-4 (6-9) 13-13
Filipe Costa: 2-3 (N/A) 2-3
Parker Jacques: 0-4 (1-0) 1-4
Cyrus Mahjoob: 2-3 (N/A) 2-3
Parker Mariencheck: 0-4 (N/A) 0-4
Thomas Paulsell: 7-4 (9-12) 16-16
Miguel Perez Peña: 5-5 (11-9) 16-14
Oscar Pinto Sansano: 5-5 (7-8) 12-13
Niels Ratiu: 10-5 (10-12) 20-17
Gabriele Vulpitta: N/A (10-5) 10-5
*Arda Azkara, Cooper Johnson and Gabriele Vulpitta are entering their first semester with Georgia.
** Davis Taylor did not feature in ITA-sanctioned matches during the fall.
Last Time Out: Georgia fell in a tight-contest in the second round of the SEC Tournament against No. 29 (10-seed) Oklahoma, 4-3.
The Sooners took the doubles points with wins on court three and then one. Court two went unfinished. In singles play, Niels Ratiu and No. 36 Ryan Colby were first off, with Ratiu taking down Alejandro Melero, 6-2, 6-4, on court four and Colby winning 6-4, 6-4 over No. 97 Luis Alvarez on court two. Oklahoma responded with a win on court four before the Bulldogs reclaimed the lead on court one with No. 58 Miguel Perez Peña defeating No. 91 Oscar Lacides, 6-2, 6-4. Again, the Sooners responded with a win on court three turning all eyes to court six. Oklahoma claimed the third set to win the match, 4-3.
Strong Starts from the Spaniards: Senior Miguel Perez Peña made his best start in dual match play of his career at 6-0 following the match against No. 5 Virginia. Perez Peña now sits at 13-6 this spring.
More, Perez Peña's record this spring includes foyr ranked wins against No. 115 Ioannis Xilas (Wake Forest), No. 91 Oscar Lacides (Oklahoma), No. 53 Jaden Weekes (Kentucky) and No. 16 Shunsuke Mitsui (Tennessee) - the senior's highest ranked win of his career. The senior clinched Georgia's highest-ranked win of the season after defeating Alan Magadan of No. 14 Texas A&M - his first match-clinching win of the season. Further, Perez Peña currently holds a 10-5 record in doubles with Gabriele Vulpitta.
Senior Oscar Pinto Sansano leads the teams in wins with 18 singles wins this spring and tied for second among all SEC players in regular season singles wins. After moving up from court five to four at the start of conference play, Pinto Sansano went 10-3 against SEC opponents during the regular season. Of Pinto Sansano's 18 wins this spring, all but two have come in straight sets.
Consistent Colby: In his second full season with the Bulldogs, senior Ryan Colby has cemented his spot near the top of the lineup for Georgia.
At this stage of the season, Colby sits at 13-6 in dual singles with seven ranked wins - all inside the top 100 in the country. A list of his ranked victories are compiled below:
Feb. 1, 2025: 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-4 vs. No. 7 DK Suresh (Wake Forest)
Feb. 24, 2025: 6-3, 6-3 vs. No. 31 Alex Kotzen (Tennessee)
Feb. 28, 2025: 6-1, 6-0 vs. No. 59 Roan Jones (Alabama)
Mar. 15, 2025: 6-2, 6-4 vs. No. 88 Petar Jovanovic (Mississippi State)
Mar. 23, 2025: 6-1, 6-4 vs. No. 80 Lukas Palovic (Arkansas)
Apr. 3, 2025: 7-5, 6-2 vs. No. 66 Jeremy Jin (Florida)
Apr. 17, 2025: 6-4, 6-4 vs. No. 97 Luis Alvarez (Oklahoma)
12 of the senior's 13 wins this spring have come in straight sets. The one three set victory came against his highest ranked opponent in Wake Forest's Suresh. Colby has played on courts one, two and three this spring, holding a 1-4 record on the top court, going 11-2 just below and maintaining a 1-0 mark on the third.
Positive Paulsell: Alongside Perez Peña, Thomas Paulsell is the only four-year senior on Georgia's roster. Each year, Paulsell has seen an uptick in key stats to his name.
Since his freshman year, Paulsell has worked his way up to the top courts for the Bulldogs. More, the senior has earned more ranked wins in each season that he has spent at Georgia beginning with one his freshman year, seven in his junior year and nine already this season. More, Paulsell's seven conference wins in singles this year is a career high.
Freshman Finding Form: Freshman Gabriele Vulpitta, in his first season with the Bulldogs, has begun to find his form for Georgia.
In SEC play, Vulpitta owns a 4-4 mark in singles, including three match-clinching wins on court six. In total this season, Vulpitta now has five match-clinching wins and three point-clinching wins.
New Heights for Niels: The sophomore has tallied 14 wins in dual match play this spring, a new career-high. In his career, Ratiu owns a 6-0 record on the top two courts for the Bulldogs.
Climbing Cyrus: Sophomore Cyrus Mahjoob climbed into the singles lineup for the Bulldogs' run in to close out the regular season. Mahjoob featured at line 6 for Georgia and grabbed a win over Rahul Sachdev for No. 3 Texas. He sits at 4-2 in singles action this spring entering the NCAA tournament.
Top 25 Wins: Since 2020, Georgia has amassed 33 top-25 wins in regular season and post-season play. A list of each top-25 victory is compiled below.
2020: 4-2 vs. No. 10 Tennessee, 4-0 vs. No. 3 Ohio State, 4-1 vs. No. 11 Ohio State
2021: 4-3 vs. No. 14 N.C. State, 5-2 vs. No. 22 Mississippi State, 4-2 vs. No. 21 UCF, 4-3 vs. No. 20 Kentucky, 4-2 vs. No. 8 Texas A&M, 4-0 vs. No. 25 Texas Tech, 4-3 vs. No. 6 North Carolina
2022: 4-3 vs. No. 16 N.C. State, 4-3 vs. No. 6 Texas, 5-2 vs. No. 23 Mississippi State, 4-3 vs. No. 14 South Carolina, 4-2 vs. No. 5 Tennessee, 4-0 vs. No. 9 Ole Miss, 5-2 vs. No. 18 Alabama
2023: 4-3 vs. No. 16 Stanford, 4-3 vs. No. 8 South Carolina, 4-2 vs. No. 6 USC, 6-1 vs. No. 14 Auburn, 4-3 vs. No. 18 Tennessee, 5-2 vs. No. 4 Kentucky, 4-0 vs. No. 5 South Carolina, 4-3 vs. No. 20 Florida, 6-1 vs. No. 20 Mississippi State, 7-0 vs. No. 25 Ole Miss, 4-0 vs. No. 24 Florida, 4-0 vs. No. 21 Texas A&M, 4-2 vs. No. 10 Harvard
2024: 5-2 vs. No. 21 Alabama
2025 (so far): 4-2 vs. No. 16 Tennessee, 4-3 vs. No. 16 Mississippi State, 4-3 vs. No. 14 Texas A&M
Award-Winning: Three Bulldogs received All-SEC accolades for their performance during the 2025 SEC season.
Seniors Ryan Colby and Thomas Paulsell were automatic selections to the All-SEC first team.
"Ryan Colby sits at 24-13 overall in singles going 13-6 in dual match play and 8-3 in conference. In the second round of the SEC Tournament, Colby defeated No. 97 Luis Alvarez for his seventh ranked win of the spring – a team-high. The senior posted an 11-2 mark on court two for the Bulldogs this spring and has three match-clinching wins this season over North Carolina, Arkansas and Ole Miss. He also ended the regular season on a 6-2 run. Colby has been ranked as high as No. 27 this season in the ITA Singles Rankings, as well as peaking at No. 14 in the doubles poll alongside Paulsell. Colby and Paulsell accrued six wins as a pairing this spring including three ranked victories.
Thomas Paulsell, a four-year member of the Bulldog program, recorded a career-best seven wins in SEC play this spring while also compiling nine totals wins across dual match play on courts one, two and three. The senior was tabbed as the program's 55th All-American in the fall after reaching the round of 16 of the NCAA Singles Tournament in Waco, Texas. Paulsell posted two ranked wins in the spring and clinched one of Georgia's highest ranked wins of the season over No. 16 Tennessee. The four-year contributor featured mainly on court three where he owned a 7-4 record. He has been ranked as high as No. 14 in the singles and doubles poll during the 2024-25 campaign – both career highs."
Fellow senior Miguel Perez Peña was an All-SEC second team selection.
"Miguel Perez Peña enjoyed his best season for Georgia this year going 13-6 in singles across the spring including a 7-0 start to the year – a career-best. Perez Peña went 22-12 overall in 2024-25 and recorded four ranked wins in the spring including his career-high win in singles over No. 16 Shunsuke Mitsui (Tennessee). He featured mainly on courts one and two for the Bulldogs posted a 7-5 mark on the top court and a 2-1 mark on the second. In doubles play, the Spaniard led the team with 11 wins playing mainly alongside Gabriele Vulpitta. The duo posted a 10-5 record in dual match play to lead the team. Perez Peña also featured in the NCAA Singles Tournament in Waco, Texas."
Colby and Paulsell are the first Bulldogs to feature in the All-SEC First Team since a trio of Bulldogs – Trent Bryde, Philip Henning and Ethan Quinn – were given the honor in 2023. Perez Peña is the first Georgia player since Tristan McCormick in 2022 to be named to the All-SEC Second Team.
Paulsell was also named to the 2025 SEC Community Service Team.
"Thomas Paulsell, a captain on Georgia's men's tennis team, has been committed to uplifting and enabling the Athens community, as well as the tennis community as a whole. A member of the Georgia Way's Leadership Education and Development Academy, Paulsell is committed to generating leadership development among student athletes and provide opportunities for said athletes to meet and interact with established local, state and national leaders. This year, Paulsell participated in Georgia Reads Day with local elementary school Barrow Elementary, spending time with the students, encouraging reading at a crucial stage in their development and acting as a spotlight for what the next generation can achieve. Oftentimes after matches, Thomas can be found encouraging young fans at matches, even going as far as inviting them down to hit on the courts. More, he has spent time in the past as a tennis instructor."
The week of Mar. 12-18, freshman Gabriele Vulpitta was named the SEC Co-Freshman of the Week for his performance against Mississippi State. Texas freshman Timo Legout was also recognized as Co-Freshman of the Week.
"Vulpitta recorded his third straight match-clinching win for Georgia against No. 16 Mississippi State to improve the team's record to 4-2 in conference play. After Mississippi State took the doubles point, Georgia needed four of the six courts in singles to walk out victors. After results came in on courts one through five, the overall match was tied 3-3; Vulpitta's match on court six would decide the match. In his first set, Vulpitta and Cortes headed to a tiebreak. Down 2-6 in the tiebreak, Vulpitta rallied winning five straight games before ultimately grabbing the first set 7-6 with a 10-8 decision in the tiebreak. Cortes took the second set, pitting the two freshmen in a third. Up 3-2 in the third set, Vulpitta won the three of the final four games to seal Georgia's second top 20 victory of the season."
Following the first week of spring action, sophomore Niels Ratiu was announced as the first SEC men's tennis player of the week for the 2025 season.
"Ratiu was efficient in the home openers for the Bulldogs. In singles play, Ratiu dispatched Mercer's Fouilhoux on court four in straight sets 6-0, 6-4 earning Georgia it's second singles point of the match. In the second match, Ratiu moved up to court two for the Bulldogs, blanking his opponent, Presbyterian's Pedro Cardoso, in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0 – the Bulldogs' first singles point of the match. Ratiu's appearance on court two against Presbyterian is his fourth career appearance in the position for Georgia. In doubles play, Ratiu maintained his court one presence from his freshman season playing alongside freshman Gabriele Vulpitta. The duo earned their first two wins over Mercer's No. 55 Stefanovic/Fouilhoux and Presbyterian's Mamalat/Vasilakis winning both matches 6-0. With the win over No. 55 Stefanovic/Fouilhoux, Ratiu now has 13 career ranked doubles wins and his first with Vulpitta."
Rank the Dawgs: The Bulldogs sit at No. 26 in the ITA team rankings poll this week.
In singles, Ryan Colby leads off at No. 36 followed by Thomas Paulsell at No. 50. Miguel Perez Peña rounded out the trio of Dawgs at No. 62. In doubles, Paulsell/Colby are regarded as the No. 30 pairing with Freddy Blaydes/Niels Ratiu at No. 38 and Perez Peña/Oscar Pinto Sansano at No. 74.
Across the SEC: Georgia is one of three schools in the SEC to have at least two players ranked inside the top-50 of the ITA singles rankings. Texas' Timo Legout, Sebastian Gorzny and Tennessee's Alex Kotzen and Shunsuke Mitsui featured in the top-50 of the singles rankings alongside Georgia's Ryan Colby and Thomas Paulsell.
New Faces, New Places: The Bulldogs welcomed three new faces to Athens for the 2025 season, with two key signings for the fall 2025 class.
VCU transfer Oscar Pinto Sansano joined the ranks for the fall campaign. Pinto Sansano began his collegiate career at Arkansas and compiled a 7-14 singles dual match record before spending transferring to VCU for two seasons. With VCU, Pinto Sansano held a 20-5 overall singles dual match record and was ranked as high as No. 31 in ITA doubles ranking. Prior to his collegiate career, he was regarded as the No. 53 junior in UTR world rankings.
In January, Grand Slam champion Gabriele Vulpitta arrived in Athens for the 2025 season and beyond. Vulpitta, a native of Rome, Italy, boasts an impressive resume with a junior doubles title at Wimbledon, as well as finishing as a 2023 junior doubles Roland Garros finalist. He also held career-high ATP rankings of No. 747 in doubles and No. 1168 in singles with a Universal Tennis Rating of 13.23. More, New Mexico transfer Arda Azkara now dons the red and black. Azkara compiled 50 singles wins with the Lobos and was named the Mountain West Co-Freshman of the Year in 2022. After his sophomore and junior seasons, Azkara became the first Mountain West player to earn back-to-back Player of the Year honors since Oliver Maiberger of San Diego State University from 2001-2003. The Turkish native recorded an 11-0 record at No. 1 singles for the Lobos last season and holds a 13.15 Universal Tennis Rating. Georgia native Cooper Johnson will join the Bulldogs in January. Johnson holds career-high recruiting rankings of No. 1 in the state of Georgia and No. 21 nationally. He holds a Universal Tennis Rating of 11.9 with a 3-2 record against other five-star recruits. Johnson also holds an ITF junior ranking of 3,157 and an ITF World Tennis Number of 16.5.
Blue-chip recruit and Anderson, S.C. native Noah Johnston signed with Georgia for the fall of 2025, head coach Jamie Hunt announced last fall. The former No. 1 overall recruit in the nation holds a 5-5 record against fellow blue-chip prospects and a career-high ITF junior ranking of 50. Johnston has recent singles and doubles wins at the J200 Tampico, a doubles championship at the J300 Barranquilla, and a doubles championship at the J300 San Jose while also featuring in the junior doubles draw of the 144th edition of the U.S. Open.
Gustavo "Gus" Ribeiro de Almeida from Guarapava, Brazil also signed with the Bulldogs for the fall 2025. Almeida holds an ATP World Ranking of 842 – the highest of any incoming freshman in college tennis this year. He also holds a 13.30 Universal Tennis Rating, also the highest of any incoming freshman in college tennis this year, and an ITF World Junior Ranking of No. 41. In his career, Almeida has competed as a junior at Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. He's qualified for two ATP Challenger events and finished as a finalist at the M15 Lujan. Almeida has also finished as a quarter-finalist at the M25 Lujan and M15 Azul. More, Almeida was in the squad for Brazil's first Davis Cup Junior title in 2022.
Head Coach Jamie Hunt: Jamie Hunt, who was part of Georgia's 2007 and 2008 NCAA National Championship teams as a player and served seven years on the Georgia men's tennis staff as an associate head coach, was tabbed to lead the Bulldogs' men's tennis program on Feb. 27, 2024.
Since returning to Athens in 2017, Hunt has twice been named the ITA Southeast Region Coach of the Year and helped the Bulldogs capture the 2023 SEC Championship with a perfect league record.
Hunt played for Coach Diaz from 2007-2010 and helped lead Georgia to a pair of national championships. Following his playing career, Hunt made his way to Nashville to become an assistant coach at Vanderbilt.
Hunt was a star tennis player and leader for the Bulldogs' tennis program from 2007 through 2010. His 116 singles wins rank 12th all-time in school history for the four-time All-SEC selection, while his combined singles and doubles record of 238-80 ranks third in the Georgia record book.
Hunt and his wife Kyndal Edwards Hunt met as seniors at the University of Georgia and have five children: Daughter Blakely, son Hayes, twins -- daughter Macy and son Hudson -- and son Ford.
Players Mentioned
