ATLANTA--After a brief rain delay, the Georgia State men's tennis team took an efficient 4-0 victory over Winthrop on Friday at the Sharon Lester Tennis Center.
GSU (6-2) took the courts about an hour after the original start time of Noon and did not waste any time in taking a stranglehold of the match. Because of the uncertainty of the weather, the officials and coaches decided to play the singles matches first, with the first team to reach four points declared the victor.
Senior Juan Pablo Gutierrez got the Panthers off to a fast start with a 6-2, 6-1 victory at No. 5 singles over Winthrop's Rich Meade. His usual doubles partner, junior Lucas Santana, followed right after Gutierrez with a 6-4, 6-1 win at No. 6 singles over Eagles senior Luka Stanic.
"Juan did a really good job setting the tone early for the win today because he won a very quick match," third-year head coach Chase Hodges said, "The conditions were not the best today, but the guys did a good job of playing at a high level despite the wind."
Sophomore Thomas Cook continued his strong play of late by dispatching Winthrop's Guy Kubi 6-3, 6-3 at No. 2 singles.
Freshman Matias Hatem clinched the match for Georgia State over Winthrop (2-6) with a grinding 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 3 singles over Yuta Hirokawa. After a long volley, Hatem finally finished off the match with a backhand winner not more than a minute before junior Victor Valente hit a winner on match point at No. 1 singles. Valente's win did not count, however, as Hatem's victory was Georgia State's fourth point of the match.
"Matias getting the clinch was big for us; that is huge for his confidence," Hodges said.
The loss is the sixth straight for Winthrop as the Panthers knotted the all-time series at 2-2. The Eagles have faced four teams in the strong Colonial Athletic Association this season and have lost to all four of them.
Hatem and Gutierrez are still tied for the team lead with a 7-1 singles record apiece.
GSU now heads to Charleston, S.C., to kick off two matches over Georgia State University's spring break. The Panthers play the College of Charleston on Sunday at 4 p.m. before travelling to Orangeburg, S.C., to face South Carolina State on Wednesday (1 p.m.).
Visit the men's tennis page on www.GeorgiaStateSports.com for a preview of GSU's spring break schedule. Following the match, check the page for a recap and box score.
www.GeorgiaStateSports.com
