Louisiana Falls to No. 19 Georgia in the First Round of the ITA Nationals

CLEMSON, South Carolina - The Louisiana men's tennis team fell to No. 19 Georgia in the opening round of the ITA Nationals on Sunday. Despite the 4-0 final score, the match had a razor-thin margin, with four of the first sets in singles needing seven points to win.

The defending SEC regular season champion Bulldogs took the doubles point to start the day, winning on courts one and two. Things tightened up once action turned to singles play.

Alejandro Sanchez Gonzalez and Vasil Dimitrov held early leads on courts one and two against a pair of nationally ranked opponents. The story was similar on courts four and five, with Oriol Fillat Gimenez and Alejo Ferrer Chueca holding serve deep into the opening set.

Sanchez Gonzalez and Dimitrov couldn't hang onto their leads against the No. 41 and No. 36 ranked players in the country, and each eventually fell in straight sets. On three, William Ribero dropped the first set but fought back to take the second against the No. 43 player in the country before his match went unfinished. Sanchez Gonzalez, Dimitrov, and Ferrer Chueca all fell in the first set by identical 7-5 scores while Fillat Gimenez forced a tiebreaker before falling 7-6 (7-5).

The Cajuns have a quick turnaround, taking on Auburn tomorrow morning at 10 in Athens, Georgia. Today's match was played in Clemson, South Carolina after weather forced the teams to move to an indoor facility.

Singles competition
1. #41 Thomas Paulsell (UGA) def. Al Sanchez Gonzalez (UL) 7-5, 6-3
2. #36 Ryan Colby (UGA) def. Vasil Dimitrov (UL) 7-5, 6-2
3. #43 Miguel Perez Peña (UGA) vs. William Ribero (UL) 6-0, 4-6, 0-1, unfinished
4. Niels Ratiu (UGA) vs. Oriol Fillat Gimenez (UL) 7-6 (7-5), 4-1, unfinished
5. #112 Cyrus Mahjoob (UGA) vs. Alejo Ferrer Chueca (UL) 7-5, 4-1, unfinished
6. Freddy Blaydes (UGA) def. Mason Landreth (UL) 6-1, 6-1

Doubles competition
1. Freddy Blaydes/Niels Ratiu (UGA) def. Vasil Dimitrov/Mason Landreth (UL) 6-4
2. Thomas Paulsell/Ryan Colby (UGA) def. Leonard Tramolay/Al Sanchez Gonzalez (UL) 6-2
3. Miguel Perez Peña/Cyrus Mahjoob (UGA) vs. Oriol Fillat Gimenez/William Ribero (UL) 5-4, unfinished

Match Notes: Louisiana 0-4 Georgia 3-0; National ranking #19
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (6,2,1)
Official: Karen Badger-Mabry

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Louisiana Falls to No. 19 Georgia in the First Round of the ITA Nationals

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Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Vasil Dimitrov

Alejo Ferrer Chueca

Oriol Fillat Gimenez

Mason Landreth

William Ribero

Alejandro Sanchez Gonzalez