No. 24 Georgia Falls at No. 6 Virginia, 4-0

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From Staff Reports

ATHENS, Ga. – The No. 24 Georgia men’s tennis team fell to No. 6 Virginia by a 4-0 result at Boar’s Head Resort on Friday evening.

“Virginia played outstanding in doubles tonight,” head coach Manuel Diaz said. “They are a talented and experienced team, which they showed today. We are all disappointed that we didn’t convert on some of those second sets in singles and did not put any scoreboard pressure on them. We have to learn from these lessons. Freddy played a great match again and is getting more comfortable. Thomas played very well at number one and Niels was on the verge of winning the second set. I felt good about Miguel’s match. We’ve got a quick turnaround and need to bounce back to take on a good North Carolina team on Sunday.”

Georgia (4-2) dropped the doubles point for the second time this season, losing on courts one and three. Ryan Colby and Thomas Paulsell lost their first match together on court one, falling by a 6-1 score to Virginia’s (6-3) James Hopper and Edoardo Graziani. Filipe Costa made his dual-match debut in doubles on court three with Miguel Perez Peña, but the pair could not defeat Dylan Dietrich and Alexander Kiefer, ultimately dropping the match, 6-3.

In singles, the Bulldogs were unable to pick up a win and lost matches on courts one, two and six. No. 68 Paulsell held serve against No. 19 Chris Rodesch throughout the first set but was broken on his serve, dropping the set and eventually the match, 6-4, 6-3. No. 44 Colby fell in his first match on court two in straight sets, while Cyrus Mahjoob came close to taking the first set but was unable to overcome James Hopper, losing his second match this spring.

Georgia will continue its road stretch and take on No. 25 North Carolina on Sunday, Feb. 11 at 1 p.m. at the Chewing Tennis Center. This will mark the 24th meeting between the programs but just the third time the match will be played in Chapel Hill.

No. 6 Virginia 4, No. 24 Georgia 0

Doubles competition

1. James Hopper/Edoardo Graziani (UVA) def. Thomas Paulsell/Ryan Colby (UGA) 6-1

2. Douglas Yaffa/Chris Rodesch (UVA) vs. Niels Ratiu/Freddy Blaydes (UGA) 4-3, unfinished

3. Dylan Dietrich/Alexander Kiefer (UVA) def. Miguel Perez Peña/Filipe Costa (UGA) 6-3

Order of finish: 1, 3*

Singles competition

1. No. 19 Chris Rodesch (UVA) def. No. 68 Thomas Paulsell (UGA) 6-4, 6-3

2. Dylan Dietrich (UVA) def. No. 44 Ryan Colby (UGA) 6-2, 6-2

3. Edoardo Graziani (UVA) vs. No. 51 Miguel Perez Peña (UGA) 3-6, 6-4, unfinished

4. Alexander Kiefer (UVA) vs. Niels Ratiu (UGA) 6-3, 5-6, unfinished

5. No. 104 Mans Dahlberg (UVA) vs. Freddy Blaydes (UGA) 1-6, 4-5, unfinished

6. James Hopper (UVA) def. Cyrus Mahjoob (UGA) 6-4, 6-2

Order of finish: 1, 2, 6*

Author

Joe Whitfield is the sports editor for the Albany Herald. He graduated from the Henry Grady School of Journalism at the University of Georgia. He is an avid Georgia Bulldog fan and passionate about local sports in Albany. He has two daughters and seven grandchildren.

Read Joe’s stories.

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