UGA women win 10th SEC title; men hope for NCAA bid

Lady Bulldogs head to NCAA regionals riding a seven-match streak.

ATHENS — It was a monumental weekend for Georgia women’s tennis.

The Lady Bulldogs won the SEC Tournament championship, thumping Texas A&M 4-1 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex to claim the 10th tourney title in program history and the first won by first-year coach Drake Bernstein.

“We are playing our best tennis right now,” said Bernstein, who succeeded Jeff Wallace this season. “We’ve grown as the year has gone on. We’re a different team than we were in February. We’re excited about what’s in front of us.”

The No. 6-ranked Bulldogs won the doubles point, and Anastasiia Lopata clinched the match at No. 4 singles. Georgia heads into the NCAA regionals having won seven consecutive matches by the combined score of 31-1, six coming via sweep. The Bulldogs have claimed three of the past four SEC tournament titles.

Notably, the outdoor championship was won indoors in the Bulldogs’ reconstructed Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Facility. Sunday’s relentless rain forced the competition into the recently opened building. It was the team’s first competitive match inside the $28 million facility.

Many former Bulldogs were on hand to witness the championship. On Friday night, a retirement party was held for Wallace at the Georgia Theater downtown. It featured a Tom Petty tribute band that invited Wallace, a huge Petty fan, on stage to sing and play air guitar.

About 600 miles away in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, another historic era in Georgia men’s tennis was careening toward an end. Manuel Diaz was coaching his final SEC Tournament for the Bulldogs, who fell to Arkansas in the opening round.

It’s been a tough final season for one of UGA’s most legendary sports figures. Ethan Quinn turned pro after his NCAA title last year, and Georgia lost No. 1-ranked signee Alex Michelsen to a late decision to go pro this year. That left the SEC’s all-time winningest coach with a somewhat depleted roster.

Georgia should have a chance to give Diaz one more hurrah. The Bulldogs are expected to receive an NCAA Tournament invitation.

“Heartbreaking loss for our guys,” Diaz said in Baton Rouge. “We’ll get back home and regroup and wait for the NCAA draw. We’re going to work very hard for the next two weeks.”

Associate head coach Jamie Hunt has been appointed to take over for Diaz at season’s end.

CONOR DILLON/UGA ATHLETICS Georgia first-year women’s coach Drake Bernstein gets a surprise dunking from his players Sunday after the Lady Bulldogs won the SEC Tournament on their home courts in Athens. “We are playing our best tennis right now,” Bernstein said.

AJC 2020 UGA’s Manuel Diaz, the SEC’s all-time winningest tennis coach, awaits an expected invitation to the NCAA Tournament after his men’s team was ousted by Arkansas in the SEC Tournament. “Heartbreaking loss for our guys,” said Diaz, who is retiring after this season.