MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – The No. 45 Georgia College & State University Men's Tennis team (6-7) had an upset bid fall just shy in a loss to No. 24 Florida Southern College (14-7) 4-3 Sunday at the Centennial Center Tennis Facility.
FSC got the doubles point with wins in the first and third slots. Sophomore Aurélien Arlot (Paris, France) and freshman Rodrigo Pérez Crespo (Ourense, Spain) teamed for a shutout loss to Danny Thomas and Inaki Braun Simo on the third line.
In first doubles, senior Sebastian Nuñez (Buford) and junior Masumi Komada (Aichi, Japan) took the fight to the national No. 9 pairing of Chris Fok Kow and Matteo Feggi in a 6-4 loss.
Sophomore Karol Malirz (Marbella, Spain) evened the team score with the first singles finish, dominating Fok Kow 6-1, 6-0 in first singles. The Mocs then got back in front with a 6-0, 6-4 win for Braun Simo over junior Jorge Robinson (Entre Rios, Argentina) on the second line. Junior Enzo Sergi (Nice, France) then evened it back out at 2-2 with a 7-5, 6-4 win at fifth singles over Feggi.
Next, Perez Crespo gave GCSU its first lead of the day, beating Elliott Altman 7-6[6], 6-3 in the fourth slot. In sixth singles, freshman Braxton Wright (Cumming) lost to Ryan Rajakar 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 bringing the team victory on the finish at third singles. There, Komada pushed Alex Fascio to the limit but lost, 2-6, 7-5, 6-4.
Malirz now owns the team lead in singles victories and is 8-4 on the year. Sergi improves to 4-2 while Perez Crespo has a 2-2 singles record.
The Bobcats are back in action Saturday, April 8 at 1 p.m., traveling to No. 6 Columbus State 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.
