ATLANTA - The Georgia State men's tennis team (12-3) has won seven straight matches after defeating Kennesaw State, 7-0, and Georgia Southwestern, 7-0, at Piedmont Park on Wednesday.
Sophomore Victor Valente clinched the match against the Owls at No. 2 singles with a 6-0, 6-1, victory over Gokalp Ozdemir. Freshman Vincent Verpeaux clinched against Georgia Southwestern, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 5 singles over Tommy Cangelosi.
The Panthers improved to 8-0 at home.
"It is always nice to get two victories in a day," said head coach Chase Hodges. "We played solid against Kennesaw State and continued playing well in the second match. We have seven straight wins and will be challenged on Saturday against two very good teams."
Georgia State claimed the doubles point over Kennesaw State after winning two of the three doubles matches. Thomas Cook/Victor Valente won 8-4, at No. 1 doubles.
Juan Pablo Gutierrez and Lucas Santana won 8-5 at No. 3 doubles to clinch the doubles point. They improved to 10-2 overall, including six in a row.
Kennesaw State picked up its lone victory at No. 2 doubles, 8-4, against Trenton Spinks/Vincent Verpeaux.
Sophomore Lucas Santana gave the Panthers a 2-0 lead after a straight sets win at No. 6 singles, 6-0, 6-0. Santana has won six in a row to improve to 12-2 in singles.
Freshman Vincent Verpeaux followed with a 6-1, 6-0, victory at No. 4 singles. Verpeaux improves to 12-2, including six straight wins.
After Valente's win, freshman Thomas Cook won in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3, at No. 3 singles, improving to 10-2 on the season.
Junior Juan Pablo Gutierrez gave Georgia State a 6-0 lead after winning 6-2, 6-2, at No. 5 singles. Gutierrez is 9-5 on the season, including two wins in a row.
Freshman Gabe Townes won in straight sets, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), at No. 1 singles to complete the sweep. Townes worked hard to win the tiebreaker in the second set 7-5, winning four straight points.
Georgia State defeated the Owls for the second straight season, 7-0.
In the nightcap, the Panthers won all three doubles matches to claim the doubles point against Georgia Southwestern. Breon Badger/Gabe Townes, playing for the first time together, won 8-3 at No. 1 doubles.
Cook and Valente won their seventh straight match at No. 2 doubles, 8-3, improving to 7-1 overall.
Vincent Verpeaux/Trenton Spinks won 8-2 at No. 3 doubles to finish the sweep.
Cook was the first off the court after winning in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 3 singles. He improved to 11-2 overall.
Townes gave the Panthers a 3-0 lead after winning 6-2, 6-1, at No. 1 singles. Townes improves to 5-2 at the No. 1 spot and 6-5 overall.
After Verpeaux's clincher, Valente continued his hot streak with a 6-0, 6-2, win at No. 2 singles, improving his record to 12-3, including 8-0 at the No. 2 flight.
Santana made it 6-0, Georgia State, after a 6-1, 6-3, victory at No. 6 singles. Santana holds a 13-2 overall record, including seven straight wins.
Freshman Breon Badger finished the sweep for the Panthers with a 6-0, 6-3, win at No. 4 singles.
Georgia State continues its homestand on Saturday against College of Charleston at 12 p.m. and Florida A&M at 6 p.m. at Piedmont Park.
-GeorgiaStateSports.com-
