ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The No. 42 Georgia College & State University Men's Tennis team (6-6, 0-2 PBC) went toe-to-toe with their sixth nationally-ranked team this season, falling 5-2 Friday at No. 15 Flagler College (10-4, 1-0 PBC).
The Saints won the doubles point with wins on the top two lines.
In first doubles, sophomore Gabe Cizek (Prague, Czech Republic) and freshman Luka Sauer Jimenez (Nyon, Switzerland) lost to Nikita Tatyanin and Jagger Ong-Patzwald 6-2. Second doubles had the same score, as senior Sebastian Nuñez (Buford, Georgia) and junior Masumi Komada (Aichi, Japan) lost to Pavlos Parson and Philipp Lemken.
Flagler moved to 2-0 with the first singles finish, coming in the sixth slot. There, Fernando Bulnes won by retirement over Sauer Jimenez, up 6-0, 5-1. Lemken then beat Komada 6-0, 7-5 in the fourth slot. The Saints clinched the team win in third singles, as Petr Cervinka topped junior Jorge Robinson (Entre Rios, Argentina) 6-4, 6-3.
In fifth singles, Parson won over freshman Rodrigo Pérez Crespo (Ourense, Spain) 6-3, 6-2. The Bobcats then got the final two results. In first singles, Cizek upset No. 24 Tatyanin in a tiebreak 6-4, 2-6, 10-6. Defending Peach Belt Conference (PBC) Player of the Week Karol Malirz (Marbella, Spain) closed the day with a 6-1, 7-6[6] win over Jacopo Denitto.
Cizek is now 7-5 in singles play, including two wins over nationally-ranked competition. Malirz improves to a team-best 7-4.
The Bobcats are back in action Saturday, April 1 at 1:30 p.m., hosting No. 11 Lander University.
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.
