By Sean Montgomery, Sports Information Assistant
MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – The No. 10 Georgia College Men's Tennis team (4-4) hosted non-conference opponent No. 48 Wingate University (7-3) Saturday at the Centennial Center Tennis Facility. Senior Taylor Powell (Martinez) picked up two wins on the day, as the Bobcat men dominated, sweeping the Bulldogs, 9-0.
Powell entered the day with 98 wins in his Georgia College career, meaning that he needed victories in both his singles and doubles matches to reach the coveted milestone.
The Bobcats raced off to a great start early, jumping out to a 3-0 lead after doubles play.
In the first slot, Jannik Kumbier (Neumünster, Germany) and Christian Graff (Lohmar, Germany) claimed the opening victory of the day, out-dueling Sebastian Hall and Josh DuToit, 8-3. Yannick Hass (Troisdorf, Germany) and Pedro Ecenarro (Santiago de Compostela, Spain) also posted an 8-3 winning result, handily defeating the pair of Tyler Schofer and Felippo Pezzoli in the third slot.
The second-slot doubles team of Powell and Kyle Kinsler (Suwanee) exploded out to a 7-1 lead against Amir Zari and Duncan Addison. However, the Bulldog teammates showed a lot of determination and kept things interesting, battling all the way back to make it a 7-5 match. Powell and Kinsler regrouped and held off the Wingate rally, claiming the final point and match victory, 8-5.
Needing just one more win to secure the achievement, Powell sped through in third-slot singles match, surrendering just two points to Zari. The senior blazed his way to a 6-0 shutout in the first set and a 6-2 match-clinching result in the second, overcoming Zari for the second time and picking up his 100th career win in a Bobcat uniform.
The team victory-sealing win came in first-slot singles, when No. 14 Hass won a 6-3, 6-1 contest over Hall to increase Georgia College's lead over Wingate to 5-0.
In the second slot, No. 47 Kumbier continued the string of match victories. Kumbier rapidly worked his way to a 6-1 opening-set result over Pezzoli, before facing strong resistance in the second. Pezzolli gained a slight advantage early, but Kumbier fended off the bid for a third set, closing out the matchup with a close 7-5 score.
Ecenarro followed with a victory of his own in the fourth slot, as he competed against DuToit. The Bobcat sophomore made quick work of DuToit, beating him 6-2 in the first and second set.
Anton Waern (Taby, Sweden) and Kinsler each earned winning results in their respective contests. Waern was challenged by a tough Schofer, but won 6-4, 6-7, 10-3 and Kinsler fed off momentum from the crowd, as he ended the day in dominating fashion with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Bram Delisse.
With the sweep, the Bobcats remain undefeated on their home courts, sitting at a perfect 4-0 on the season. They will look to remain so when they host Peach Belt Conference (PBC) rival No. 20 University of North Georgia Wednesday, March 9 at the Centennial Center Tennis Facility. Match time is scheduled for 2 p.m.
The Georgia College Department of Athletics, two-time winners of the PBC Commissioner's Cup, sponsors 11 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 @GCBobcats on all social media formats for up-to-the-minute reports, and visit GCBobcats.PhotoReflect.com to purchase photo prints from home athletic contests.
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