by Brian DeCandia, sports information graduate assistant
AUGUSTA, Ga. – The No. 15 Georgia College men's tennis team (14-8) lost a tough match Friday night in the opening round of the Peach Belt Conference (PBC) Tournament against the No. 12 Flagler College Saints (11-6), 5-3.
The Bobcats were down 3-0 after doubles a week ago to the Saints but turned things around Friday going up 2-1. Johan Wadstein (Helsingborg, Sweden) and Jerome Leborgne (Coordimanche, France) played out of the No. 1 spot for the 'Cats downing David Cotrone and Gino Ramirez, 8-2. Leborgne and Wadstein improve to 14-7 on the season.
Leo Bernardes (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Tyler Franks (Greensboro, Ga.) dropped their match 8-4 as they couldn't sneak past Uriel Oquendo and Harry Snoxell.
In third doubles action, Tobias Rausch (Mannheim, Germany) and Robert Angelucci (Acworth, Ga.) slipped past Peter Coulis and Adam Hunt, 8-6. The Bobcat duo is now 13-8 on the year.
Leborgne lost a heartbreaker to No. 3 Cotrone after winning the first set, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. Wadstein also dropped his match in a three set marathon to Coulis, 6-2, 2-6, 6-2.
In fourth singles, Bernardes downed Snoxell, 6-3, 6-4, boosting Bernardes' record to 13-7. Franks lost his bout in straight sets to Hunt, 6-3, 6-3. Wictor Andersson's (Karlskoga, Sweden) match took three full sets and a tie-breaker to decide but GC eventually dropped the match to Oquendo that clinched it for the Saints 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (7-5).
The PBC Tournament has come to an end for the Bobcats as they now await a potential at-large bid for the NCAA Regional Tournament.
The Georgia College Department of Athletics, back-to-back winners of the PBC Commissioner's Cup, sponsors 10 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' multiple appearances in post-season competition as well as documented academic success and community-service involvement. Sign up at www.twitter.com/BobcatSports and www.facebook.com/gcbobcats for up-to-the-minute reports, and visit www.GCBobcats.com for more information, and to nominate your favorite former Bobcats and Colonials to the GC Athletics Hall of Fame.
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