LAKE NONA, Fla. – For the 14th time in program history, a Georgia men’s tennis player has reached the NCAA Singles Championships semifinal, as No. 2 Ethan Quinn won his quarterfinal match against Michigan’s Andrew Fenty, 6-2, 6-4, on Thursday morning at the United States Tennis Association National Complex.
Quinn is now the 11th Bulldog to reach the semifinal and only the second Georgia freshman to do so, joining Al Parker who fell in the Final Four during his first season collegiate season in 1988. The Fresno, Calif. native has now won 15 consecutive singles matches and is 20-1 dating back to Feb. 19. His straight-set win against Fenty, who is ranked No. 20 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association singles poll, moves Quinn to 32-10 on the year and 24-7 against ranked opponents.
“Ethan is very competitive and has worked very hard for this moment,” said head coach Manuel Diaz. “All along, this has been one of his goals as a freshman, to win this tournament. He’s taking it one step at a time. He’s improved so much. He had a great fall and while he had a rough start to the spring, he did a tremendous job of staying the course and continuing to work hard. He believed and is now playing with great confidence. He’s just taking it one step at a time, one match at a time, which is what we want from him. He’s going to be ready to play his best tomorrow.”
The redshirt freshman will compete for a spot in the national championship on Friday, May 26 against No. 9-16 Chris Rodesch, who played on court one for the team champion Virginia Cavaliers. A junior, Rodesch is ranked No. 9 in singles with a 29-6 record, including 18-1 on the top court.
Quinn will look to become the first Georgia player to advance to the finals of the NCAA Singles Championship since John Isner did so in 2007 and win the fifth singles national championship in program history.
“Chris has had plenty of experience playing at the number one position and he’s playing very well right now,” said Coach Diaz. “It’s going to be a big challenge. He not only has a great serve but has a very complete game in all aspects. He will be looking to come forward at the right time. We will need to return well, we need to take care of our serves and impose our game.”
The first three games of the quarterfinal match were all won by the returning side. With Quinn serving up 2-1, he would hold twice and break Fenty to take a 4-2 lead and go on to win the opening set by a 6-2 score. The Bulldog took 13 of 22 total return points in the set, which lasted just under 40 minutes, good for a 59 percent clip.
Quinn quickly broke Fenty in the second set to take a 2-0 lead, but the Michigan Wolverine bounced back, picking up a break to get the set back on serve at 3-3. In the following game, Fenty quickly went up 30-love. Following a double fault, Quinn got a break by forcing long three shots from his opponent, going up 4-3. The remainder of the set held serve, giving the match to Quinn, 6-2, 6-4.
“A fantastic match by Ethan,” said Coach Diaz. “I thought he played exceptionally well and was very solid in all aspects. Even when challenged in the second set, he did a great job of battling through the difficult moments and showing tremendous composure. To me, he did everything very well. He served well, he hit his forehand with authority, his backhand was super solid and he’s making a ton of returns. It was a very complete match.”
The 2023 SEC Freshman of the Year, Quinn is now part of a prestigious list of Bulldogs to make the semifinal, which includes Patricio Arnold, George Bezecny, Matias Boeker, Stephen Enochs, John Isner, Wade McGuire, Francisco Montana, Parker, Mikael Pernfors and John Roddick.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Bulldogs by following UGA Men’s Tennis on social media on Twitter and Instagram @UGATennis, on Facebook @UGAMensTennis, and online at GeorgiaDogs.com.
Singles Results
Round of 64 – 05/22/23
No. 2 Ethan Quinn (UGA) def. Luc Fomba (TCU) 6-7(7), 6-2, 7-5
Dan Martin (MIA) def. Philip Henning (UGA) 7-6(4), 6-4
Round of 32 – 05/23/23
No. 2 Ethan Quinn (UGA) def. Ryan Seggerman (UNC) 6-4, 6-4
Round of 16 – 05/24/23
No. 2 Ethan Quinn (UGA) def. No. 9-16 Nishesh Basavareddy (STAN) 6-3, 4-6, 7-5
Quarterfinals – 05/25/23
No. 2 Ethan Quinn (UGA) def. Andrew Fenty (MICH) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles Results
Round of 32 – 05/24/23
Garrett Johns/Pedro Rodenas (DUKE) def. No. 4 Trent Bryde/Ethan Quinn (UGA) 6-4, 7-6(5)
Quinn is now the 11th Bulldog to reach the semifinal and only the second Georgia freshman to do so, joining Al Parker who fell in the Final Four during his first season collegiate season in 1988. The Fresno, Calif. native has now won 15 consecutive singles matches and is 20-1 dating back to Feb. 19. His straight-set win against Fenty, who is ranked No. 20 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association singles poll, moves Quinn to 32-10 on the year and 24-7 against ranked opponents.
“Ethan is very competitive and has worked very hard for this moment,” said head coach Manuel Diaz. “All along, this has been one of his goals as a freshman, to win this tournament. He’s taking it one step at a time. He’s improved so much. He had a great fall and while he had a rough start to the spring, he did a tremendous job of staying the course and continuing to work hard. He believed and is now playing with great confidence. He’s just taking it one step at a time, one match at a time, which is what we want from him. He’s going to be ready to play his best tomorrow.”
The redshirt freshman will compete for a spot in the national championship on Friday, May 26 against No. 9-16 Chris Rodesch, who played on court one for the team champion Virginia Cavaliers. A junior, Rodesch is ranked No. 9 in singles with a 29-6 record, including 18-1 on the top court.
Quinn will look to become the first Georgia player to advance to the finals of the NCAA Singles Championship since John Isner did so in 2007 and win the fifth singles national championship in program history.
“Chris has had plenty of experience playing at the number one position and he’s playing very well right now,” said Coach Diaz. “It’s going to be a big challenge. He not only has a great serve but has a very complete game in all aspects. He will be looking to come forward at the right time. We will need to return well, we need to take care of our serves and impose our game.”
The first three games of the quarterfinal match were all won by the returning side. With Quinn serving up 2-1, he would hold twice and break Fenty to take a 4-2 lead and go on to win the opening set by a 6-2 score. The Bulldog took 13 of 22 total return points in the set, which lasted just under 40 minutes, good for a 59 percent clip.
Quinn quickly broke Fenty in the second set to take a 2-0 lead, but the Michigan Wolverine bounced back, picking up a break to get the set back on serve at 3-3. In the following game, Fenty quickly went up 30-love. Following a double fault, Quinn got a break by forcing long three shots from his opponent, going up 4-3. The remainder of the set held serve, giving the match to Quinn, 6-2, 6-4.
“A fantastic match by Ethan,” said Coach Diaz. “I thought he played exceptionally well and was very solid in all aspects. Even when challenged in the second set, he did a great job of battling through the difficult moments and showing tremendous composure. To me, he did everything very well. He served well, he hit his forehand with authority, his backhand was super solid and he’s making a ton of returns. It was a very complete match.”
The 2023 SEC Freshman of the Year, Quinn is now part of a prestigious list of Bulldogs to make the semifinal, which includes Patricio Arnold, George Bezecny, Matias Boeker, Stephen Enochs, John Isner, Wade McGuire, Francisco Montana, Parker, Mikael Pernfors and John Roddick.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Bulldogs by following UGA Men’s Tennis on social media on Twitter and Instagram @UGATennis, on Facebook @UGAMensTennis, and online at GeorgiaDogs.com.
Singles Results
Round of 64 – 05/22/23
No. 2 Ethan Quinn (UGA) def. Luc Fomba (TCU) 6-7(7), 6-2, 7-5
Dan Martin (MIA) def. Philip Henning (UGA) 7-6(4), 6-4
Round of 32 – 05/23/23
No. 2 Ethan Quinn (UGA) def. Ryan Seggerman (UNC) 6-4, 6-4
Round of 16 – 05/24/23
No. 2 Ethan Quinn (UGA) def. No. 9-16 Nishesh Basavareddy (STAN) 6-3, 4-6, 7-5
Quarterfinals – 05/25/23
No. 2 Ethan Quinn (UGA) def. Andrew Fenty (MICH) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles Results
Round of 32 – 05/24/23
Garrett Johns/Pedro Rodenas (DUKE) def. No. 4 Trent Bryde/Ethan Quinn (UGA) 6-4, 7-6(5)