By: Benjamin Petree, Sports Information Student.
NEWBERRY, S.C. – The Georgia College & State University Men's Tennis team (2-1) had a bounce back match on the road Tuesday, winning at Newberry College (5-2) with an overall match score of 5-2.
The Bobcats swept the Wolves at doubles to secure the first point. To start the day for the GCSU Men's squad, the pairing of Gabe Cizek (Prague, Czech Republic) and Luka Sauer Jimenez (Nyon, Switzerland) started on the top line to defeat Mateo Bivol and Joshua Fritz 6-1. The second line saw another 6-1 win featuring the pair of Masumi Komada (Aichi, Japan) and Sebastian Nuñez (Buford) winning it for the Bobcats over Laurenz Grabia and Marcel Schomburg. On the third line, Marcello Rocha Moreira (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Rodrigo Pérez Crespo (Ourense, Spain) paired up to win 6-4 over Lawrence Friedland and Tal Cohen.
The first result came from sixth singles, as Enzo Sergi (Nice, France) captured the second point for the Bobcats winning over Lucas Mruk 6-1, 6-2. Karol Malirz (Marbella, Spain) put the Bobcats on the brink of victory over Newberry defeating Schomburg on the second line 6-0, 6-3. The third line featured Cizek and Bivol squaring off once again, with Bivol getting the upper hand this time for the Wolves by 7-5, 6-3 set score. Sauer gave it his all against Grabia on the fourth line, but fell to the Newberry player after a hard-fought three-set match, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. This put the Newberry Wolves within a point of tying the Bobcats on the overall match score of the day.
However, on the fifth line senior Jesus Villamizar Abia (Valencia, Venezuela) secured the win for the Bobcats, taking a back-and-forth three-set match against Friedland with a final match score of 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. With the team win in hand, Jorge Robinson (Entre Rios, Argentina) put the GCSU Men even further in the lead defeating Fritz 7-6, 1-6, 7-5 in a tough three-set match. The final overall match score was 5-2 in favor of the Bobcats.
The next match for the Bobcat Men will be on the road to face the Division I Mercer University Bears Wednesday, Feb. 22. The first serve is set for 3 p.m.
Owning the top Academic Success Rate among public schools in Division II, the Georgia College Department of Athletics sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. GCSU Athletics has won three-straight Presidents' Awards for Academic Excellence, and are two-time winners of both the PBC Commissioner's Cup and the PBC Institution of the Year Sportsmanship Award. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' continued appearances in post-season competition as well as high-level academic success and community-service involvement. Bobcat Athletics embodies the mantra of "Graduating Champions for Life." Sign up at @GCSUBobcats on all social media outlets for up-to-the-minute reports.
