ATLANTA--The No. 66-ranked Georgia State men's tennis team battled to a 4-3 loss vs. No. 58 Brown on Sunday night at the Sharon Lester Tennis Center.
The match was tied 3-3 in the team score as freshman Sofiane Chevallier entered a tiebreaker in the third set of his match. Chevallier's opponent, Brown junior Mike Hill, took the tiebreaker 7-5 to win the match 4-6, 6-0, 7-6 (7-5) to give Brown the victory.
Georgia State (15-3) freshman Matias Hatem and sophomore Thomas Cook starred on the day. Hatem extended his team-best 14-match singles winning streak with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over freshman William Spector. It was Hatem's 17th singles victory on the year which leads the Panthers.
Hatem's win came in the No. 2 slot just before Cook finished off his match 6-0, 5-7, 6-1 in the No. 3 slot. Cook now has won 12 straight singles matches and improved his record this year to 14-4. It was also the sophomore's 30th career singles victory in dual matches.
Cook and Hatem played together in the No. 1 doubles slot in the match and took GSU's lone doubles victory. The two earned a 8-4 win vs. Brown's top pair of freshman Michael Riechmann and junior Tom Deighton. Cook and Hatem remained a perfect 6-0 on the season with the victory.
After Hatem and Cook both won their singles matches, senior Juan Pablo Gutierrez won 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 at No. 5 singles against freshman Daniel Hirschberg. He improved to 13-2 in singles play this season with the win.
Brown (13-3) snapped Georgia State's 11-match winning streak. The Bears were the fourth ranked opponent on GSU's schedule this season and earned their fifth-consecutive victory on Sunday.
Georgia State, led by third-year head coach Chase Hodges, next travels to Murfreesboro, Tenn., to compete in the Sun Belt Shoot-Out at Middle Tennessee State Unviersity. Visit the men's tennis page on www.GeorgiaStateSports.com for a preview of the tournament later in the week.
Singles:
1. Brandon Burke (BROWN) def. Victor Valente (GSU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
2. Matias Hatem (GSU) def. William Spector (BROWN) 6-4, 6-1
3. Thomas Cook (GSU) def. Michael Riechmann (BROWN) 6-0, 5-7, 6-1
4. Mike Hill (BROWN) def. Sofiane Chevallier (GSU) 4-6, 6-0, 7-6 (7-5)
5. Juan Pablo Gutierrez (GSU) def. Daniel Hirschberg (BROWN) 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
6. Sam Fife (BROWN) def. Ismael Lahlou (GSU) 5-7, 6-4, 6-3
Doubles:
1. Matias Hatem/Thomas Cook (GSU) def. Michael Riechmann/Tom Deighton (BROWN) 8-4
2. William Spector/Brandon Burke (BROWN) def. Juan Pablo Gutierrez/Lucas Santana (GSU) 8-4
3. Mike Hill/Sam Fife (BROWN) def. Victor Valente/Ismael Lahlou (GSU) 8-1
www.GeorgiaStateSports.com
