By Angela Moryan, Sports Information Assistant
MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – No. 14 Georgia College Men's Tennis (8-6, 3-3 PBC) was able to notch out two match wins against No. 4 Armstrong State University (11-4, 6-0 PBC) in Friday's 7-2 loss. Kyle Kinsler (Suwanee) got his second win this year in the fifth spot as Pedro Ecenarro (Santiago de Compostela, Spain) snagged yet another strong victory in the second flight against a nationally-ranked opponent.
The Pirates took an early lead with a 3-0 doubles outing to start the day. The No. 19 doubles team of Ignacio Hernandez and Luca Cerin were able to secure the first Armstrong State team point against Nathan Connelly (McDonough) and Anton Waern (Taby, Sweden) on court three. The Pirates shut down the Bobcats with an 8-4 set.
In the first line, Kinsler and Christian Graff (Lohmar, Germany) lost their match to the No. 6 doubles pair, Alberto Caceres Casas and Jan Porteset, 8-5. Ecenarro and Mattia Campus (Concorezzo, Italy) lost their early lead in an 8-6 Armstrong State comeback courtesy of Bjorn Kurtze and Lorenzo Camilli.
The Bobcats needed five of the six singles matches to come away with the team win. Ecenarro snagged his second season "W" against a nationally-ranked opponent in the two spot. The Bobcat junior took No. 13 Casas all the way in a thrilling three-setter. Ecenarro downed Casas in the first set with an impressive 6-4 score, but the Pirate came back with a 6-2 second-set win to split the match. Mimicking his play in the first set, the Bobcat secured the victory with a 6-4 win to finish off the upset.
Also in the win column was the GC senior Kinsler, who earned his second fifth-flight victory of the season. The Bobcat ousted Kurtze, forcing a tiebreaker with a 6-3 second-set response to a 6-3 first-set loss. Kinsler shut down Kurtze in an easy 10-5 tiebreaker.
No. 36 Graff came close to beating another ranked opponent this season. He faced No. 8 Cerin in the first line, pushing the Pirate into tiebreakers for each set. The Bobcat lost though, 7-5, 7-6.
Waern fought hard in the third spot and took his match to three sets as well. He hosted No. 48 Hernandez on the far sixth court. The Pirate won the first set in a quick 6-3 bout, but Waern came back in the second to split the match 7-6. The Bobcat was unable to come out on top though, losing the tiebreaking third set 6-4.
Porteset ousted Campus in the fourth spot 6-0, 6-1, and Connelly came close against Alvaro Cruz Chamorro, falling 6-1, 7-5. The loss to Armstrong State closes regular-season action against the always-tough Pirate Men's Tennis squad, as the university has announced this will be their final season of athletic competition.
The Bobcats host No. 24 Flagler College Sunday, weather permitting, at 11 a.m. Georgia College is in good position in the Peach Belt Conference (PBC), sitting at sixth. The top eight teams in the standings advance to the PBC Tournament hosted by Francis Marion University in Florence, South Carolina on April 21-23.
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.
