Norfolk, Va. – The Georgia State men's tennis team (15-6) played a thrilling match, but falling, 4-3, to #1 seed William & Mary in the semifinals of the 2010 CAA Championship on Saturday afternoon at the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center. Freshman Victor Valente lost the final, tight match, with the score tied at 3-3, at No. 2 singles, falling in three sets, 4-6, 6-3, 2-6 to a first-team All-CAA opponent.
Georgia State fell just short of making the finals for the first time since 2007. The Panthers enjoyed a successful season, finishing with a 15-6 overall record. They fell just four wins shy of the school record. And, they battled through the tournament without their #1 player, Calvin Kemp, out with an injury.
“This match could have gone either way today. My guys left everything out on the court today and represented GSU in a great way. I could not be more proud of the effort level that we displayed,” said head coach Chase Hodges.
“We had a great season this year. The program will be even better next year and we are already looking forward to 2011. The 2010 season will go down as a very successful campaign. Our two seniors will be missed next season,” added Hodges.
Georgia State started the day with a rain delay that caused the match to be pushed back an hour. They had just started the doubles point and resumed, leading in just one of the matches.
The Panthers lost the first two doubles matches to make the score 1-0 William & Mary early on. The Tribe quickly made the score 2-0, after winning at No. 4 singles. Junior Trenton Spinks lost, 6-0, 6-2, playing hurt throughout the match.
Georgia State responded with a victory at No. 6 singles when freshman Lucas Santana won in straight sets, 6-4, 6-0. Santana finished the season strong with a 15-4 singles record. The Panthers cut the lead to 2-1 with the win.
Juan Pablo Gutierrez played a close first set losing, 7-6 (8-6), in a tiebreaker before falling, 6-1, in the second. William & Mary took a 3-1 lead with the victory at No. 3 singles.
The Panthers mounted a comeback when sophomore Jackson Moore won a first set tiebreaker, 7-6 (7-4). Moore finished the match with another tiebreaker, 7-6 (7-4), to defeated All-CAA first team Keziel Juneau, at No. 1 singles.
Senior Henri Mangin won a close first set tiebreaker, 7-6 (7-4), before closing out his opponent, 6-4. Mangin finished his career with a stellar 15-3 record and an impressive 13-0 record at No. 5 singles.
Georgia State fell short but proved this is a program that has changed the culture from previous seasons.
#1 William & Mary defeated #5 Georgia State, 4-3
Doubles
No. 1 James Whiteford/Sebastien (W&M) defeated Jackson Moore/Trenton Spinks (GSU), 8-3
No. 2 Anton Andersson/Keziel Juneau (W&M) defeated Henri Mangin/Victor Valente (GSU), 8-5
No. 3 Juan Pablo Gutierrez/Lucas Santana (GSU) vs. Ija Orre/Richard Wardell (W&M), 5-6, unfinished
Singles
No. 1 Jackson Moore (GSU) defeated Keziel Juneau (W&M), 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4)
No. 2 Sebastien Vidal (W&M) defeated Victor Valente (GSU), 4-6, 6-3, 2-6
No. 3 James Whiteford (W&M) defeated Juan Pablo Gutierrez (GSU), 6-7 (6-8), 6-1
No. 4 Richard Wardell (W&M) defeated Trenton Spinks (GSU), 0-6, 2-6
No. 5 Henri Mangin(GSU) defeated Anton Andersson (W&M), 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
No. 6 Lucas Santana (GSU) defeated Illja Orre (W&M), 6-4, 6-0
