ATLANTA--The No. 71-ranked Georgia State men's tennis team earned a 4-1 victory in the first round of the Sun Belt Shoot-Out on a rainy Saturday in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Georgia State's afternoon match vs. Middle Tennessee State was postponed until Sunday at 8:30 a.m. due to rain. The No. 2 seed Panthers will face the third-seeded Blue Raiders in the morning with the winner advancing to the championship match to be played in the afternoon.
Freshman Matias Hatem continued his excellent play this season by clinching the 4-1 victory for Georgia State (16-3) against Troy (3-13). Hatem took a 6-3, 6-3 victory at the No. 2 singles position against Troy's Sami Ghorbel. It was the San Miguel de Tucuman, Argentina, native's team-best 15th straight win to improve him to 18-1 on the year.
"Our singles play continues to carry us as our guys didn't panic today after dropping the doubles point," third-year head coach Chase Hodges said, "Troy is a much better team than their record indicates. MTSU will present a big challenge for us in the semifinals."
The Panthers dominated singles play after dropping the doubles point to Troy. Senior Juan Pablo Gutierrez started Georgia State's rally with a 6-2, 6-3 win in the No. 5 singles spot. The win was Gutierrez's 40th career victory at Georgia State.
Freshman Sofiane Chevallier followed with a 6-4, 6-3 triumph in the No. 4 slot over Mansingh Athare. The Paris, France, native is now an impressive 9-1 to begin his career at GSU.
Sophomore Thomas Cook continued his dominant play of late by rallying to take a 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 win in the No. 3 singles match. Since dropping four straight singles matches earlier this season, Cook has won 13 in a row to improve to 15-4 on the year.
Junior Victor Valente, the No. 14-ranked player in the ITA Southeast Singles rankings, was in his third set tied at two games apiece when Hatem clinched. Freshman Ismael Lahlou was up a set and also tied at two in his second set.
Georgia State and MTSU have met six times with the Panthers owning a 4-2 lead in the all-time series.
Fans can follow tomorrow's match vs. MTSU with live stats courtesy of www.goblueraiders.com. Visit the men's tennis page on www.GeorgiaStateSports.com following the match for a recap and box score of all the action from Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Singles:
1. Victor Valente (GSU) vs. Anas Rouchdi (TROY) 6-3, 1-6, 2-2, unfinished
2. Matias Hatem (GSU) def. Sami Ghorbel (TROY) 6-3, 6-3
3. Thomas Cook (GSU) def. Jamie Eccleton (TROY) 2-6, 6-2, 6-0
4. Sofiane Chevallier (GSU) def. Mansingh Athare (TROY) 6-4, 6-3
5. Juan Pablo Gutierrez (GSU) def. Patrick Eichler (TROY) 6-2, 6-3
6. Ismael Lahlou (GSU) vs. Tadju Davies (TROY) 7-5, 2-2, unfinished
Doubles:
1. Mansingh Athare/Sami Ghorbel (TROY) def. Matias Hatem/Thomas Cook (GSU) 8-2
2. Victor Valente/Juan Pablo Gutierrez (GSU) vs. Ture Skinner/Jamie Eccleton (TROY) 7-4, unfinished
3. Anas Rouchdi/Patrick Eichler (TROY) def. Sofiane Chevallier/Lucas Santana (GSU) 8-4
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (5,4,3,2)
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