COLUMBUS, Ga. – The Georgia College & State University Men's Tennis team (8-9, 2-4 PBC) lost their regular-season finale to their highest-ranked opponent of the season in No. 4 and Peach Belt Conference (PBC) Regular-Season Champion Columbus State University (14-4, 6-0 PBC) 6-1 on the road Tuesday.
The Cougars started up after doubles, thanks to wins in the second and third slots. In second doubles, Sebastian Nuñez (Buford) and Masumi Komada (Aichi, Japan) fell to Javier Cueto Ramos and Pietro Martinetti 6-3. Third doubles was a shutout loss for Karol Malirz (Marbella, Spain) and Enzo Sergi (Nice, France) to Andrea Sandrone and Felix Steen.
The Bobcats grabbed a win on the top line, as Gabe Cizek (Prague, Czech Republic) and Luka Sauer Jimenez (Nyon, Switzerland) nabbed an upset 6-3 win over Santiago Perez and Tommaso Schold.
The GCSU Men got their team point in sixth singles, as junior Jorge Robinson (Entre Rios, Argentina) outlasted Sandrone 6-3, 2-6, 10-4.
First singles saw Cizek fall to the nation's No. 1 singles player in Perez 6-3, 7-6[4]. Malirz lost to No. 34 Cueto Ramos in the second flight 6-3, 6-2. Komada lost to No. 72 Schold in third singles, 6-1, 6-2.
The fourth slot was a 6-2, 6-0 loss for Rodrigo Pérez Crespo (Ourense, Spain) to Martinetti. Fifth singles brought a loss for Sauer Jimenez to Armin Trklja 6-0, 6-1.
The loss wraps the regular season for the Bobcats, as they tied Augusta University for fifth place in the final Peach Belt Conference (PBC) standings at 2-4. GCSU takes the No. 6-seed for the PBC Tournament and will face No. 3-seed Lander University in the opening round Friday, April 21 at noon.
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.
