ATLANTA--In an exciting contest that saw the top three singles matches each head to tiebreakers, the No. 65-ranked Georgia State men's tennis team grabbed a 5-2 victory vs. No. 37 UNCW on Sunday at the Sharon Lester Tennis Center.
Georgia State's (18-4) win vs. the No. 37-ranked Seahawks is its third over a ranked opponent this season. It is also the highest ranked opponent the Panthers have defeated under third-year head coach Chase Hodges.
The match came down to the No. 2 singles match where junior Victor Valente rallied from being down 4-2 in the third set to force the match into a third set tiebreaker vs. UNCW's Chris Cooprider. Valente, the No. 14-ranked player in the ITA Southeast Regional rankings, grabbed the early lead in the tiebreaker and didn't relinquish it as he won 6-3, 0-6, 7-6 (7-3) to clinch the Georgia State victory over the Seahawks (13-5).
"This is the biggest win we've had all year, those guys are No. 37 in the country and they have earned that ranking," Hodges said, "Our guys earned this victory today. I thought we proved we were the better team on the court and proved that we are a team that needs to be reckoned with."
Georgia State honored its lone senior, Juan Pablo Gutierrez, prior to the match as part of its senior day ceremonies. The Guayaquil, Ecuador, native responded by posting two victories on the day. He earned an important 6-3, 6-4 win vs. Kaue Pereira at No. 5 singles to put GSU ahead 2-0 early. Gutierrez trailed 4-1 in the second set before he rallied to take the victory. He improved to 16-3 in singles play this year.
Prior to that, he paired with Valente at No. 2 doubles to take an 8-6 win vs. UNCW's Michael Reilly and Sam Williams.
"I played doubles with Victor and I think we played very good and took advantage of opportunities," Gutierrez said, "I feel really proud of this team, myself, everyone here and being a part of Georgia State."
The doubles win helped the Panthers pounce to a 1-0 lead on the Seahawks to begin the match. Junior Lucas Santana and freshman Jose Ortiz, who clinched GSU's 4-3 win vs. DePaul last weekend, won 8-6 at No. 3 doubles to clinch the doubles point.
Gutierrez's win in the No. 5 slot kicked-off singles play and shortly after, freshman Ismael Lahlou gave GSU a commanding 3-0 lead with a dominating 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 6 singles. The win was the Casablanca, Morocco, native's third consecutive, straight-set victory.
With GSU ahead 3-0, the drama built as UNCW rallied with two singles victories at the No. 4 and No. 1 matches. Two singles matches remained as Valente battled into his third-set tiebreaker and sophomore Thomas Cook did the same. Valente clinched the match with his 50th career singles victory just before Cook could finish off a 7-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3) win vs. Pedro Mol. Cook improved to 16-6 in singles this year with the win.
GSU has one match remaining on its regular-season schedule at Troy on Saturday (1 p.m.). Visit the men's tennis page on www.GeorgiaStateSports.com later this week for a preview of the match.
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