ATLANTA--The Georgia State men's tennis team swept its doubleheader on Sunday, including a 6-1 upset of No. 72 Florida A&M, to improve to 15-2 on the year and win a record 11th-consecutive match.
The 11 wins are a record for the Panthers under the leadership of third-year head coach Chase Hodges. It breaks the previous mark of 10 consecutive wins set last season from Feb. 12-28. GSU (15-2) has not lost a match since Feb. 8. The school record for consecutive victories is 14 set in 1993.
"Our guys did a great job coming back after dropping the doubles point," Hodges said, "We swept all six singles matches, five of those were in straight sets. To come away with a 6-1 victory over a team like [Florida A&M] speaks volumes about where our program is."
The Panthers defeated Morehouse 7-0 prior to its win in the nightcap against No. 72 Florida A&M (9-8). Georgia State's next match is a 7 p.m. duel with Brown on Sunday at the Sharon Lester Tennis Center. Brown is currently the No. 60-ranked team in the ITA Men's National Team rankings.
Georgia State 6, #72 Florida A&M 1
Junior Victor Valente clinched the victory for Georgia State by defeating Rattlers junior Salif Kante 6-2, 6-4 at the No. 1 singles match. It was Valente's eighth-straight singles victory and his 12th this season. The junior trailed four games to none in the second set before he rattled off six-straight games to take the match.
Valente swung the match in his favor during an important rally while he trailed 4-2 in the second set. A forehand from Valente clipped the net, forcing Kante to approach the net and slide a drop shot cross court. Valente raced in and flicked the ball back over the net after it appeared he couldn't reach the perfectly-placed ball. The two traded volleys before Kante hit a lob shot long to give Valente the point.
Valente, the No. 14-ranked singles player in the ITA Southeast rankings, earned his first victory over a ranked opponent this season with the win against Kante. Kante is ranked No. 16 in the Southeast region.
"He liked to serve and volley, so I tried to be aggressive in my returns," Valente said, "It worked well, I came back in my second set."
The Panthers rallied with six singles victories after dropping the doubles point. Freshman Ismael Lahlou quickly won a 6-0, 6-0 match at No. 6 singles over Florida A&M's Fabrice Myrtil to begin singles play. It was the Casablanca, Morocco, native's seventh-consecutive singles win. Classmate Matias Hatem followed shortly after with a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 2 singles vs. Levan Clark. It was Hatem's team-best 16th singles win of the season, and his 13th-straight victory.
"His serve is very good, but I felt so good with my forehand and my backhand today," Hatem said.
Senior Juan Pablo Gutierrez won 6-2, 6-2 at No. 5 singles against Temuera Asafu-Adjaye to set up Valente's match-clinching win. Sophomore Thomas Cook won 6-3, 4-2 after his opponent, Takuera Happy, retired in the second set. It was Cook's 11th-straight win. Freshman Sofiane Chevallier improved to 8-0 to start his GSU career with a 5-7, 6-2, 1-0 (10-5) win at No. 4 singles.
Cook and Hatem improved to 5-0 this season as a pair with a 8-4 win at No. 2 doubles against Happy and Chidi Gabriel.
The win was GSU's eighth victory vs. Florida A&M and was its second win over a ranked opponent this season. The Panthers defeated No. 64 ETSU 5-2 on Feb. 2 this year.
Georgia State 7, Morehouse 0
The Panthers dominated on the way to a 7-0 victory at Morehouse on Sunday morning.
Georgia State did not drop a set in the match, sweeping doubles and singles play for the fourth time this year. Freshmen Michael Vallejo and Jose Ortiz starred on the day as neither dropped a game in singles or doubles play.
Ortiz and Vallejo began the match with an 8-0 win at No. 3 doubles against Chris Hawthorne and Noah Terry. It was the duo's first victory together this season.
Ortiz then followed that by earning a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 5 singles over Hawthorne. Vallejo then triumphed at No. 6 singles by the same score against Morehouse's (1-5) Nathaniel Sinckler.
Hatem took a 6-1, 6-0 match at No. 1 singles vs. Michael Cutrer and Cook followed suit at No. 2 singles with a 6-0, 6-0 win vs. DeWayne Dixon. Chevallier and Lahlou, who took an 8-3 match at No. 2 doubles earlier in the match, also notched two-set victories in singles play.
Visit the men's tennis page on www.GeorgiaStateSports.com for a preview of Sunday's match. Check back on Sunday for links to live stats and a live chat throughout Sunday's match.
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