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Georgia
No. 3 Men’s Tennis prevails at No. 31 Georgia, 4-2
04.11.2025 | Men's Tennis
The Longhorns were without three regulars in the singles lineup and two in doubles, but still moved to 13-0 in the SEC.
Athens, Ga. – No. 3 Texas Men's Tennis prevailed with a 4-2 win at No. 31 Georgia on Friday in Athens. The Longhorns were without three regulars in the singles lineup and two in doubles, but still moved to 13-0 in the SEC.
Texas has now won the first three contests of its four-match road trip to end the regular season. The Longhorns clinched the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 3 after Georgia had opened with a win at No. 1. Texas then followed with singles victories by freshman No. 2 Timo Legout at No. 1, and senior No. 49 Pierre-Yves Bailly at No. 2 for a 3-0 lead. The Bulldogs picked up wins at Nos. 6 and 4 to get within 3-2, but for the second time in the last three matches, freshman Evan Burnett entered the singles lineup and came away with the clinch, this time at No. 5. He did so at No. 6 against No. 22 Oklahoma on April 3.
After doubles, Legout was first off the singles court with a 6-2, 6-4 win over No. 28 Ryan Colby at No. 1. Legout opened the match with a break and a hold for a 2-0 lead, and after Colby held and got the break back for 2-2, Legout went on a 4-0 run for the set. The first six games of the second set were on serve despite Colby twice holding at deuce. Legout then secured the break he needed for a 4-3 lead, and the rest of the set was on serve to his win, capped by a deuce-point hold for the match.
Bailly was right behind Legout with a 6-4, 6-0 win over No. 56 Miguel Perez Peña at No. 2. Bailly quickly moved out two-break lead of 3-0. Perez Peña got one break back on a deuce point, but the rest of the set was on serve to Bailly's win despite three consecutive games reaching deuce from 4-2 to 5-3. Bailly then swept the second set, including deuce-point breaks for 1-0 and 5-0, to give Texas a 3-0 overall lead.
The rest of the matches all went to third sets after the Longhorns had won all six singles first sets. The Bulldogs claimed two of those matches, starting with No. 6 where freshman Rahul Sachdev fell to Cyrus Mahjoob, 4-6, 6-1, 6-0. Mahjoob broke on a deuce point and held for a 2-0 lead in the first set, but Sachdev went on a 3-0 run capped by a deuce-point hold. After Sachdev held again at deuce for a 4-3 lead, he broke for 5-3. A third-straight service game of his reached deuce, and although Mahjoob broke this time, Sachdev broke again at love for the set. However, after Sachdev held the opening serve of the second set, Mahjoob controlled the match the rest of the way with a 12-0 run.
Georgia pulled within 3-2 overall, as freshman Sebastian Eriksson was downed by Oscar Pinto Sansano, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, at No. 4. Despite three of the first five games reaching deuce, all five were held for a 3-2 lead for Eriksson until he broke for 4-2. He then completed a 4-0 run for the set with a hold and a break. In the second set, the first two games were both deuce-point holds starting with Eriksson. However, Pinto Sansano's hold would be the start of a 5-0 run for him that included another deuce-point hold for 3-1. Eriksson got one game back on a hold for 5-2, but Pinto Sansano served out the set from there. Eriksson held and broke for a 2-0 lead in the third set, but Pinto Sansano broke back and held to even it. Pinto Sansano was then the next and last to break, doing so on a deuce point for a 4-3 lead on the way to his 6-4 win.
Burnett then came through in the clutch again with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (3) victory over Niels Ratiu at No. 5. Ratiu broke first in the match for a 2-1 lead, but Burnett broke back on a deuce point. It would be the first of consecutive deuce-point wins for Burnett and the beginning of a 4-0 run for a 5-2 lead. The last two games were then held for his 6-3 win. Burnett then broke first in the second set for a 2-1 lead that he consolidated for 3-1. He had a chance to break again at deuce in the next game, but Ratiu managed to hold, initiating a 5-0 run to take the set, including a deuce-point break that he secured for 5-3. Both players held at deuce to begin the third set starting with Burnett, but Ratiu broke and held again for a 3-1 lead. The next five games were all held, including three at deuce for 4-2, 4-3 and 5-4, but Burnett came through with the break he needed to keep the match alive and even it, 5-5. The players then held their next serves to reach the tiebreaker. There, Ratiu grabbed the first two points with a mini-break to start, but Burnett responded with a 3-0 run for the lead. Ratiu tied it on the next point, however it was all Burnett from there as he finished on a 4-0 run to the clinch.
One match remained unfinished at No. 3 with junior No. 66 Jonah Braswell trailing No. 43 Thomas Paulsell, 7-6 (2), 3-6, 1-2. Braswell broke first in the match for a 4-2 lead, but Paulsell broke back and held for 4-4. Paulsell later broke on a deuce point for a 6-5 lead, but Braswell answered it to send the set to a tiebreaker. Braswell then jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the breaker and did not look back for the 7-2 win. Paulsell began the second set with a deuce-point hold, and he later picked up the only break for a 3-1 lead on the way to his 6-3 win. In the third set, he broke on a deuce point for a 2-1 lead, and the next game had also reached deuce in Braswell's attempt to break back, but play halted when the overall match was clinched.
Earlier, junior Sebastian Gorzny played doubles and paired with Legout at No. 1, as Legout's usual partner sophomore Lucas Brown out of the lineup. However, the duo fell, 6-1, to Pinto Sansano and Ratiu. The Bulldogs broke on a deuce point to open the match, and although the Longhorns held their next serve to trail, 2-1, Georgia went on a 4-0 run the rest of the way, including another deuce-point break for 4-1.
The combo of Bailly and Eriksson moved up from their typical No. 3 to No. 2, and they produced a top-25 victory, 6-2, over Paulsell and Colby. The Longhorns broke first for a 2-1 lead, and even though the Bulldogs broke back to even it, Texas set out on a 4-0 run to the win, including a deuce-point hold for 4-2.
That left it to No. 3 where Burnett was again key, appearing in the first dual match doubles contest of his career and pairing with Braswell for a 6-4 win over Perez Peña and Gabriele Vulpitta. Starting with the Bulldogs, both teams held at deuce to start the match, however the Longhorns later captured the only break for a 3-2 lead, which they consolidated on a deuce-point hold for 4-2. Four games later, they held again at deuce to win the match and clinch the point.
The Longhorns (22-3, 13-0 SEC) close the regular season at No. 17 Tennessee on Sunday, April 13, at 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT.
#3 Texas 4, #31 Georgia 2
Singles – Order of Finish (1,2,6,4,5)
1. #2 Timo Legout (TEX) def. #28 Ryan Colby (UGA) 6-2, 6-4
2. #49 Pierre-Yves Bailly (TEX) def. #56 Miguel Perez Peña (UGA) 6-4, 6-0
3. #43 Thomas Paulsell (UGA) vs. #66 Jonah Braswell (TEX) 6-7 (2), 6-3, 2-1, unf.
4. Oscar Pinto Sansano (UGA) def. Sebastian Eriksson (TEX) 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
5. Evan Burnett (TEX) def. Niels Ratiu (UGA) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (3)
6. Cyrus Mahjoob (UGA) def. Rahul Sachdev (TEX) 4-6, 6-1, 6-0
Doubles – Order of Finish (1,2,3)
1. Oscar Pinto Sansano/Niels Ratiu (UGA) def. Sebastian Gorzny/Timo Legout (TEX) 6-1
2. Pierre-Yves Bailly/Sebastian Eriksson (TEX) def. #23 Thomas Paulsell/Ryan Colby (UGA) 6-2
3. Jonah Braswell/Evan Burnett (TEX) def. Miguel Perez Peña/Gabriele Vulpitta (UGA) 6-4
Players Mentioned
