Trey Mallory and his No. 65 UNC Wilmington (UNCW) teammates, fresh from their triumph as 2025 Coastal Athletic Association Champions, experienced a setback in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The Seahawks were defeated 4-0 by No. 26 Georgia at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center.
UNCW, seeded third in the Raleigh Regional, saw their impressive nine-match winning streak come to an end, concluding their season with a 12-8 record. For No. 26 Georgia, this victory marked their 16th of the season against 11 defeats. The Bulldogs, the No. 2 seed in the regional, entered the contest having already faced 19 matches against nationally ranked opposition, highlighting their strength and experience at this level.
Georgia established an early foothold in the tie, securing the crucial doubles point with victories on courts two and three. Mallory, partnering with Alex de Gabriele in the No. 2 doubles pairing, fell 6-1 to Niels Ratiu and Gabriele Vulpitta. Meanwhile, UNCW's top duo of Jordi Domenech and Joseph Wayand were locked in a tight battle against No. 30 Ryan Colby and Thomas Paulsell in the No. 1 doubles match. Domenech and Wayand, who boasted an impressive 8-1 record and a seven-match winning streak heading into the regional, trailed narrowly 4-3 when the match went unfinished.
The Bulldogs carried their momentum into the singles matches, quickly extending their lead to 2-0 with a decisive 6-0, 6-1 victory in the No. 6 singles contest. Shortly after, No. 36 Colby further solidified Georgia's advantage with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Wayand in the No. 2 singles match, pushing the score to 3-0.
The decisive point came in the No. 3 singles match, where No. 50 Paulsell emerged victorious in a compelling encounter against No. 104 Sam Nicholson of UNCW, winning 6-4, 6-3 and clinching the tie for Georgia.
Despite the overall result, several individual matches were left unfinished. UNCW senior Harold Huens held a lead in his No. 1 singles match against No. 62 Miguel Perez Pena, 6-3, 2-5, before play was halted. Huens concludes his UNCW career with an impressive 50 wins, tying for 14th in the program's all-time standings.
Fellow senior Trey Mallory was also leading his match on court four, 7-6 (3), 0-2, while Lukas Steffen had just entered a third set in his No. 5 singles match (6-2, 4-6) when the overall result was determined and play ceased. While the defeat marks the end of UNCW's season, the individual performances in the unfinished matches offer a glimpse of the competitive spirit that defined their successful campaign.
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