SUMTER, S.C. |  The Georgia College & State University men's tennis team opened play at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division II Southeast Regional Championship Friday (Sept. 22) at the Palmetto Tennis Center.

The Bobcats opened the day as Catawba College's tandem of Paul Dekester and Sebastian Zabala defeated Jorge Robinson and Rodrigo Pérez Crespo 8-6 in the first round of the doubles. GCSU's other doubles team of Gabe Cizek and Luka Sauer Jimenez received a bye in the first round and will face Barton College's Hannes Tylehed and Guillem Busquets Brau at 8 a.m. Saturday (Sept. 23) in the second round.

Georgia College dropped its four singles matches. Lincoln Memorial University's Alexander Giurea def. Robinson 6-4. 7-6 (2) and Carson-Newman University's Paul Gayk defeated Pérez Crespo 6-4, 6-2 in the first round, while Tusculum University's Anton Krondell defeated Cizek 6-2, 7-6 (2) and Rens Verhaar from Tusculum downed Sauer Jimenez 6-3, 7-5 in the second round.

All four GCSU players will be in action in the consolation draw. Cizek will face Guilherme De Oliveira (University of Mount Olive) and Pérez Crespo will entertain Andrea Sandrome (Columbus State University) at 11:30 a.m., while Robinson will tangle with Lars Hordijk (Carson-Newman) and Sauer Jimenez will hook up with Joshua Fritz (Newberry College) at 11 a.m.

About GCSU Athletics
Owning the top Academic Success Rate among public schools in Division II in back-to-back academic years, 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 is a two-time winner of the PBC Commissioner's Cup and a three-time winner of 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.