Georgia tennis coach Manuel Diaz inducted into hall of fame

ATLANTA — Georgia men’s tennis head coach Manuel Diaz was inducted into the United States Tennis Association Southern Hall of Fame class of 2024 on Saturday evening at the Crowne Plaza Atlanta Perimeter at Ravinia.

Diaz becomes the third Bulldog to receive the honor, joining his mentor and legendary head coach Dan Magill and six-time All-American Al Parker. He was introduced into the Hall of Fame by previous USTA CEO and former Georgia great Gordon Smith.

Georgia has reached the NCAA Tournament in all 35 seasons under Diaz’s leadership, reaching the quarterfinals in 27 of those trips to the postseason. His players have captured eight individual NCAA Championships, three in doubles and five in singles, most recently by Ethan Quinn winning the singles title in 2023.

Diaz has led the program to 29 SEC Championships, 10 tournament titles and 19 regular season crowns. Every letterman of at least four years has won an SEC Championship ring while playing at Georgia for Coach Diaz.

With 767 victories as the head coach, Diaz is the all-time winningest coach in Southeastern Conference history. He has been awarded seven SEC Coach of the Year trophies, eight ITA Southeast Region Coach of the Year recognitions and three ITA National Coach of the Year awards. Diaz has had 40 different players earn 97 All-American honors and 60 individuals account for 135 All-SEC recognitions.

The Bulldogs will open their 2024 dual match season with a double header against Eastern Kentucky on Monday, Jan. 22. Georgia’s first two matches against the Colonels will be played at 1 p.m. ET and 4 p.m. respectively.