Full Results: http://gcbobcats.com/sports/mten/2016-17/files/GCM-9.xtg
By Angela Moryan, Sports Information Assistant
MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – No. 11 Georgia College Men's Tennis (6-3) won once again in thrilling fashion Friday afternoon when they hosted Auburn University-Montgomery for a non-conference battle. Mattia Campus' (Concorrezzo, Italy) come-from-behind third-setter secured the Bobcats' fourth straight victory.
The day favored the Bobcats from the start, as they took two of the three doubles matches. Campus paired up with Pedro Ecenarro (Santiago de Compostela, Spain) in the two spot to take down Santiago Veglia and Matias Destefanis, 8-6. Christian Graff (Lohmar, Germany) and Kyle Kinsler (Suwanee) stopped Vincent Dubosclard and Birkir Gunnarsson with an easy 8-4 win in the first line. The third spot victory went to the Warhawks, though, as Francisco Mendieta and Alvaro Terron topped Anton Waern (Taby, Sweden) and Vincent Castermans (Grenoble, France) after a close 8-6 set.
With a 2-1 advantage, the Bobcats needed just three wins in singles to seal the deal. Graff helped out first with a win on court one against Destefanis, 6-1, 6-4. Waern couldn't hold on to his close match and lost to Mendiata in the three spot, 6-3, 6-4.
Ecenarro got the Bobcats one win away after winning his heated battle with Dubosclard. The Bobcat came back from a 6-4 set one loss to split the match with his own 6-4 win in the second set. With impassioned play, Ecenarro was finally able to notch his fourth straight singles win with a 6-3 third set victory.
Castermans was the next to finish in the fourth spot. He fell to Terron 6-3, 7-5. Next door, Kinsler fought hard against the Icelandic Gunnarsson. The Warhawk tied up the day at four-all after beating Kinsler 6-2, 6-4.
Once again, the Bobcat victory came down to the last match of the day on court six. Campus had lost his first set to Veglia 6-2 but knew Georgia College's win would most likely come down to him. He fought back in a close second set, coming out on top 6-4. At that point, the pressure was on the two tennis players in the winner-take-all situation. As the teams and fans watching in anticipation, Mattia quickly brought the tiebreaking third set to a 4-1 Bobcat advantage. The Warhawk won one more game before falling 6-2. Campus came from behind to win his match which secured the fourth straight team win for the Bobcats.
The GC men are looking for number five in a row as they head to No. 47 Augusta University Sunday. First serve is scheduled for 1 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 social media for up-to-the-minute reports, and visit GCBobcats.PhotoReflect.com to purchase photo prints from home athletic contests.
