ATLANTA - The Georgia State men's tennis team (8-3) won two matches Sunday, defeating Chattanooga, 6-1, and North Georgia, 7-0, at Piedmont Park. Freshman Thomas Cook won the clincher at No. 3 singles in straight sets against Chattanooga, while junior Juan Pablo Gutierrez clinched the North Georgia match at No. 4 singles.
"It is nice to be 8-3 on the season and pick up two more victories today," said head coach Chase Hodges. "I was very impressed today with the play of Gabe Townes at the No. 1 spot. Our doubles play continues to improve and the team is gaining more confidence."
Georgia State has won three straight matches and is a perfect 6-0 at home.
The Panthers began the day by winning the doubles point against Chattanooga to take a 1-0 lead. Juan Pablo Gutierrez/Lucas Santana won at No. 3 doubles, 8-3, to improve their record to 6-2. Victor Valente/Thomas Cook won their second straight match at No. 1 doubles, 8-5. At No. 2 doubles, Trenton Spinks/Vincent Verpeaux went for the sweep, but lost in the tiebreaker 8-7 (7-3).
Georgia State won two quick matches at No. 6 and No. 5 singles to increase its lead to 3-0. Lucas Santana won at No. 6 singles and Vincent Verpeaux won at No. 5 singles. Both players won in straight sets.
Cook won the clincher at No. 3 singles, 7-5, 6-4. Moments later, Victor Valente closed out his match in straight sets at No. 2 singles, 6-1, 6-4.
Chattanooga picked up its lone point at No. 4 singles when Tresnan Jackson won in straight sets, 7-5, 6-1, against Juan Pablo Gutierrez.
Freshman Gabe Townes won in three sets at No. 1 singles, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3. Townes picked up his second victory of the season against Roberto Vieira, who won the Southern Conference Freshman of the Year award last season.
In the second match of the day, the Panthers played under the lights at Piedmont Park against North Georgia (2-1).
Georgia State won all three doubles matches to claim the doubles point. Trenton Spinks/Gabe Townes won 8-1 at No. 1 doubles. Juan Pablo Gutierrez/Lucas Santana won 8-2, at No. 3 doubles. Gutierrez/Santana have won three straight matches, improving their record to 7-2. Thomas Cook/Victor Valente won at No. 2 doubles, 8-5. Cook/Valente are now 3-1 in doubles.
Freshman Vincent Verpeaux won in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 5 singles to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead. Verpeaux is now 9-2 in singles, including a 7-2 mark at No. 5 singles.
Sophomore Lucas Santana picked up his ninth win of the season after a straight sets win at No. 6 singles. Santana has a 8-1 singles record at the No. 6 spot.
Gutierrez won in straight sets at No. 4 singles and Cook earned his eighth win of the season after winning at No. 3 singles.
Georgia State won the last two matches to finish the sweep against North Georgia, 7-0. Victor Valente remained perfect on the season when playing No. 2 singles with a 4-0 record and is 8-3 overall in singles.
Gabe Townes finished the match with a win at No. 1 singles, 6-3, 6-2. Townes has won two straight matches to improve his record to 3-4.
Georgia State returns to action next weekend when they travel to Rock Hill, S.C. to play Winthrop on Saturday. First serve is set for 2 p.m.
