No. 3-ranked Wake Forest beats Geogia tennis

ATHENS, Ga. – The No. 40 Georgia men’s tennis team fell to No. 3 Wake Forest, 5-2, on Monday afternoon at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

“A tough outing in the sense that our guys are showing a lot of fight and played a lot of good

tennis out there,” said head coach Manuel Diaz. “We have to give the credit to Wake Forest. We played a great doubles point, they just showed a little bit more experience when it mattered most in singles and were able to win some close matches.”

Georgia secured the doubles point to start the match. No. 37 Ryan Colby and Niels Ratiu picked up where they left off, winning on court two and for their first victory of the dual match season together. The pair secured their first win since Jan. 6 against South Carolina with a 6-4 victory against Filippo Moroni and Matthew Thomson. On court three, Cyrus Mahjoob and Miguel Perez Peña, finished off doubles and clinched with a 6-3 win for the Bulldogs’ fourth doubles point of the year.

In singles, Colby earned his fourth-straight ranked win and seventh of the year. The junior defeated No. 53 Dhakshineswar Suresh, 7-5, 7-6(5), on court two.

“We’re a very motivated team, every day we put in the work, we do extra,” said Colby. “I think we’re one of the hardest working teams in the country, just little things here and there. We’re a young team – I know it’s not an excuse for Coach Diaz, but we’re learning.”

The Demon Deacons quickly took the lead after winning matches on courts six and one. Ratiu was in the midst of a third set battle against No. 117 Luciano Tacchi on court four after the Bulldogs fell behind in the match, 2-1. The freshman earned a break in the set to tie it at 4-4, but was unable to pick up the win, falling 6-2, 1-6, 6-4. Wake Forest then clinched the match on court five followed by No. 56 Colby, who notched his 10th straight-set win since September with his victory against No. 53 Suresh.

Georgia will travel to Knoxville, Tenn. on Friday, March 1 to compete against No. 4 Tennessee at the Goodfriend Tennis Center, with first serve set for 4:30 p.m. ET. The Bulldogs are 12-5 against the Volunteers since 2012.

No. 3 Wake Forest 5, No. 40 Georgia 2

Doubles competition

1. No. 3 DK Suresh Ekambaram/Holden Koons (WFU) def. Freddy Blaydes/Thomas

Paulsell (UGA) 6-2

2. No. 37 Ryan Colby/Niels Ratiu (UGA) def. Filippo Moroni/Matthew Thomson (WFU)

6-4

3. Cyrus Mahjoob/Miguel Perez Peña (UGA) def. Luca Pow/Luciano Tacchi (WFU) 6-3*

Order of finish: 2, 1, 3*

Singles competition

1. No. 25 Filippo Moroni (WFU) def. No. 54 Thomas Paulsell (UGA) 6-4, 6-4

2. No. 56 Ryan Colby (UGA) def. No. 53 DK Suresh Ekambaram (WFU) 7-5, 7-6 (7-5)

3. Matthew Thomson (WFU) def. No. 77 Miguel Perez Peña (UGA) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2

4. No. 117 Luciano Tacchi (WFU) def. Niels Ratiu (UGA) 6-2, 1-6, 6-4

5. Luca Pow (WFU) def. Freddy Blaydes (UGA) 6-3, 6-5*

6. Holden Koons (WFU) def. Cyrus Mahjoob (UGA) 6-3, 6-4

Order of finish: 6, 1, 4, 5*, 2, 3

JoeWhitfield[email protected]