COLUMBUS, Ga. – The No. 34 Georgia College & State University Men's Tennis team (8-10) came up short in Peach Belt Conference (PBC) Tournament opening-round action Friday, losing to No. 16 Lander University (15-3) 4-1 at Columbus State University.
Doubles play went to Lander, as the Bearcats took the first and second slots. On the top line, Gabriel Cizek (Prague, Czech Republic) and Luka Sauer Jimenez (Nyon, Switzerland) lost to the nation's No. 28 pairing in Nick Beamish and Markus Sorensen, 6-4. Second doubles saw a 6-4 loss for Sebastian Nunez (Buford) and Masumi Komada (Aichi, Japan) to Matthew De Groot and Hugo Regner.
Singles action also started with a pair of Lander wins. Cizek lost to No. 21 Regner in first singles, 6-4, 6-4, and Komada dropped a match by the same score to De Groot in third singles.
Sophomore Karol Malirz (Marbella, Spain) picked up the first team point for GCSU with a 7-6, 6-0 win over Ambroise Marchand. Malirz is now a team-best 11-6 this season. Fifth singles closed the match, as Enzo Sergi (Nice, France) was beat by Emilien Baradel to give the Bearcats their fourth point. Both unfinished singles matches were in the third set.
The No. 3-seed Bearcats move on to face No. 2-seed Flagler College tomorrow. The No. 6-seed Bobcats see their PBC Tourney hopes come to a close.
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.
