What you need to know:
* Georgia State knocked off Clemson 4-2 Sunday afternoon in its home opener
* Giles Hussey earned his first clinch and first win over a ranked opponent this season
* GSU returns to the court 1 p.m. Saturday for a match at South Carolina
PEACHTREE CORNERS, Ga. – In its first home match of the spring 2019 campaign, Georgia State captured a 4-2 victory over ACC power Clemson Sunday afternoon at the Life Time Athletic Courts. Senior Giles Hussey picked up his first clinch and first win over a ranked opponent this season in Sunday's victory.
"Unbelievable environment tonight for our home opener against a solid team in Clemson," GSU head coach Jonathan Wolff said. "They made us work hard for that doubles point at the start, but great fight by Bailey and Diego to step up there at the end. We also had a new team for our No. 3 position in Kevin and Quentin who had a solid win there to get things moving in the right direction."
GSU improved to 4-3 overall and 1-0 at home, winners of two of its past three matches. Clemson dropped its second consecutive match, falling to 6-4 on the year.
The Tigers got on the board first with a 6-2 victory on court two of doubles play, knocking off Georgia State duo Roberts Grinvalds and Andrei Duarte. GSU bounced back as Kevin Huynh and Quentin Coulaud won 6-4 on court three in their season debut as doubles partners.
Then on court one, Bailey Showers and Diego Padilha edged past Clemson pair Simon Baudry and Yizhou Liu 7-5 to secure the doubles point for the Panthers. It was Showers and Padilha's first win at the No. 1 position of doubles this year.
Clemson evened the score at one as Jacob Jahn knocked off Duarte 6-4, 6-0 on court four, but Georgia State fought back to take the win on the next two courts. Coulaud notched a 6-4, 6-2 decision over his opponent on court four, earning his first singles win of the season. Grinvalds followed with a 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 victory on court one to put GSU one win away from sealing the victory.
Pierre-Louis Dodens defeated Showers 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 at the No. 5 position to get the Tigers their second point of the afternoon, but it was too little too late. Hussey handed GSU the win as he knocked off No. 100 Simon Baudry of Clemson 6-4, 1-6, 6-2.
"In singles play we played some smart and aggressive tennis to grab some quick leads, but credit to Clemson for hanging around and really made us earn the clinching point," Wolff said. "It was great to see Roberts get his first win as a freshman at the No. 1 position and have Hussey back it up by enjoying his first win against a ranked opponent this season."
The Swindon, England, native joins Shubladze as the only Panthers to own wins over nationally ranked opponents in singles play this season.
"We'd like to give a huge thank you to Life Time for hosting us and all the friends, family and fans that came out to enjoy today's match," Wolff said."We'll enjoy this win on our day off tomorrow, but we'll be right back to work in preparing for a tough road trip to face South Carolina."
Georgia State returns to the court 1 p.m. Saturday for its match at South Carolina.
Georgia State 4, Clemson 2
Singles Competition
1. Roberts Grinvalds (GSU) vs. Teodor Giusca (CU) 7-6 (8-6), 6-4
2. Giles Hussey (GSU) vs. [No. 100] Simon Baudry (CU) 6-4, 1-6, 6-2
3. Vazha Shubladze (GSU) vs. Yizhou Liu (CU) 6-4, 6-6, unfinished
4. Quentin Coulaud (GSU) def. Carlos Kelaidis (CU) 6-4, 6-2
5. Pierre-Louis Dodens (CU) def. Bailey Showers (GSU) 7-6 (8-6), 6-4
6. Jacob Jahn (CU) def. Andrei Duarte (GSU) 6-4, 6-0
Doubles Competition
1. Bailey Showers/Diego Padilha (GSU) def. Simon Baudry/Yizhou Liu (CU) 7-5
2. Pierre-Louis Dodens/Jacob Jahn (CU) def. Roberts Grinvalds/Andrei Duarte (GSU) 6-2
3. Kevin Huynh/Quentin Coulaud (GSU) def. Teodor Giusca/Carlos Kelaidis (CU) 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (6,4,1,5,2)
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