Georgia men’s tennis opened conference play with a 4-0 upset over No. 5 LSU on Saturday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex, marking the Bulldogs’ highest-ranked win of the season.
The match, originally scheduled for 1 p.m., was delayed more than an hour due to rain as the courts were dried before play began.
Georgia claimed the doubles point with wins on courts two and three. Will Jansen and Gabriele Vulpitta defeated No. 63 Matias Ponce De Leon and Erik Arutiunian, 6-1, while the No. 64 tandem of Arda Azkara and Santiago Giamichelle sealed the point with a 6-4 victory over Sasa Markovic and Andrej Loncarevic
The Bulldogs carried a 1-0 lead into singles play and quickly built momentum. Freshman Noah Johnston was first off the court with an ace, defeating Markovic, 6-1, 6-2 on court five. Derrick Chen followed with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Enzo Kohlmann De Freitas on court four to give Georgia a 3-0 advantage.
Loud cheers erupted from the home crowd as No. 77 Vulpitta clinched the match on court six, securing Georgia’s eighth shutout of the season and extending its winning streak to six matches.
Although unfinished, No. 30 Jansen’s match on court two featured heated exchanges between Jansen, head coach Jamie Hunt and the chair umpire during his contest against No. 53 Arutiunian after a line call was overturned.
“They have been putting in the time and coming together and that is the Georgia way,” Hunt said. “That’s how we do things. I’m not surprised. We have to carry that belief and that hunger and chip on our shoulder in Monday’s match against a really good Florida team. We have to be ready to play.”
Georgia stands at 8-1 and will continue SEC play Monday against No. 15 Florida at 1 p.m. at home.