by Brian DeCandia, sports information graduate assistant
COLUMBUS, Ga. – The No. 15 Georgia College men's tennis team (14-9) lost their first match of the NCAA Regional Tournament Sunday to host and Peach Belt Conference (PBC) foe, No. 15 Columbus State University (16-4), 5-1.
The Bobcats found themselves down quickly after doubles, 2-1. Leo Bernardes (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Tyler Franks (Greensboro, Ga.) got the only win of the afternoon for GC edging out Martin Shishkov and Filip Cojbasic, 9-7 in second doubles.
Johan Wadstein (Helsingborg, Sweden) and Jerome Leborgne (Coordimanche, France) played out of the No. 1 spot for the 'Cats but lost to No. 7 Christophe Noblet and Gordan Divljak by a hard-fought 8-6. In third doubles action, Tobias Rausch (Mannheim, Germany) and Robert Angelucci (Acworth, Ga.) fell to Pasqual Duttlinger and Andre Mordhorst, 8-2.
Needing three victories, the Cougars got wins at the third, fifth and sixth slots to finish off GC.
Rausch lost the first singles match of the day to Duttlinger, 6-0, 6-2 and Wictor Andersson (Karlskoga, Sweden) fell to Olivier Simonet in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3 at six. Franks dropped the clinching match to Shishkov, 6-4, 6-4.
The NCAA Regional Tournament loss means the end of the season for the Bobcat men. A season where GC was ranked as high as No. 9 in the country, GC put Leborgne and Wadstein on the All-PBC Second Team.
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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