By Sean Montgomery, Sports Information Student Assistant
The Georgia College team raced off to a hot start after notching wins in each of the three doubles matchups.
In the first slot, Yannick Hass (Troisdorf, Germany) and Christian Graff (Lohmar, Germany) paired to bring down the No. 12 team of Julien Tan and Ettore Damiani. The Bobcat duo quickly pulled off the upset, dominating the nationally-ranked pair with an 8-2 result. In the second slot, Jannik Kumbier (Neumünster, Germany) and Taylor Powell (Martinez) also buzzed their way to an 8-2 result, defeating Mathias Degardin and Clement Raymond.
Pedro Ecenarro (Santiago de Compostela, Spain) and Kyle Kinsler (Suwanee) rounded out the sweep in the third slot by outpacing Alejandro Andino and Hunter Lathorp, 8-5.
In singles play, Georgia College clinched the win and took four of the six matches.
No. 12 Hass outplayed No. 25 Tan in a first-slot battle of nationally-ranked players. Hass was in control the majority of the way, surrendering just two points in a 6-0, 6-2 victory.
The Pacers picked up their first win of the day, as Kumbier retired in the second slot due to injury. The match win went to Damiani. However, Graff responded with a winning result in the fourth slot, securing the match-clinching fifth victory in a 6-2, 6-4 effort over Raymond.
Powell dropped the first set to Degardin 6-1, but roared back from a 4-1 deficit to force a tiebreak in the second. His valiant comeback fell short however, as he fell 7-6 to close out the match.
Ecenarro and Anton Waern (Taby, Sweden) rounded out the day with dominating wins in the fifth and sixth slots. Ecenarro fought off Lathrop 7-5 in the first set before shutting him out 6-0 in the second, while Waern allowed just three points to Andino in a 6-2, 6-1 win.
A pair of Bobcat seniors played their final match at home:
Powell has played in four seasons for the Bobcats, owning 50 career singles wins, including 10 this season, and 66 career victories in doubles action for a total of 116 career wins.
Hass has also played in four seasons for the Bobcats, amassing 53 career singles wins, including 9 this season, and 42 career victories in doubles action for a total of 95 career wins.
The Bobcat team returns to the courts Friday, April 15 when they travel to PBC-foe No. 10 Columbus State University. First serve is set 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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