FLORENCE, S.C. – In a match as hotly-contested as one will ever see, the upset bid for No. 13 Georgia College Men's Tennis (15-8) came true, a 5-4 victory over No. 5 Lander University (17-5) to take third at the Peach Belt Conference (PBC) Tournament Sunday at Francis Marion University.
Back against the wall and the match tied 4-4, 2015 All-American No. 12 Yannick Hass (Troisdorf, Germany) dropped No. 9 Chris Devoize 6-1 in the third set to clinch the victory.
The Bobcats edged out to an early 2-1 lead, taking second and third doubles.
Junior Kyle Kinsler (Suwanee, Georgia) and sophomore Pedro Ecenarro (Santiago de Compostella, Spain) dropped Ozan Cildir and Charles Baron 8-2 to get things started in the third slot.
Senior Taylor Powell (Martinez, Georgia) and sophomore Jannik Kumbier (Neumunster, Germany) added an 8-6 win in the second slot over Chris Devoize and David Korsten.
Georgia College nearly pulled off the sweep, as Marc Hofer and Loic Minery outlasted senior Yannick Hass (Troisdorf, Germany) and junior Christian Graff (Lohmar, Germany) 9-8 (7-5) in the first slot.
Lander tied the match with a win in sixth singles, where Alexandre Springer topped junior Anton Waern (Taby, Sweden) 6-2, 6-1. Ecenarro responded in the fifth slot with relative ease, beating Cildir 6-3, 6-1.
The Bearcats again drew even, as Korsten got past Graff in a pair of 6-3 sets. An upset win at second singles put the Bobcats back in front. Kumbier knocked off No. 14 Hofer in a dazzling upset 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.
Needing a single victory over the final two matches to clinch, Powell's upset bid with No. 35 Minery in the third slot fell short, 6-3, 2-6, 6-0, drawing the teams even once again to set up Hass' heroics.
The Bobcat senior took the first set 7-6 (7-5), but then stumbled in the second, a 6-3 loss to Devoize. With the match on the line and one final set to go, Hass left little doubt, clobbering the No. 9-ranked player in a 6-1 set.
The victory marks the second over a top-five opponent for GC Men's Tennis this season.
The Bobcats will now await the selection of the NCAA Southeast Regional field, the announcement set for Tuesday, May 3 at 8:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.
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.
