PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. – Georgia State men's tennis completed a 7-0 sweep over in-state and Sun Belt rival Georgia Southern Saturday afternoon at the Peachtree City Tennis Center.
The win builds upon GSU's successful campaign, as the Panthers have won six consecutive matches. Additionally, Georgia State remains undefeated in SBC action.
Both squads began the match with something to prove. The Panthers set the tone early by staying composed during a gritty doubles point. Mihai Marinescu and Vazha Shubladze cruised to victory on court three. The top two courts both went to tiebreakers, as each squad looked for the early edge. No. 68 Andrei Duarte and Roberts Grinvalds found the 7-6 (3) result to clinch the advantage for the Panthers.
Georgia State did not slow down in singles action. First, Vazha Shubladze cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 victory on the top court. Mihai Marinescu earned his ninth win of his rookie campaign to add to the GSU point total before Andrei Duarte tacked on a third court victory to clinch the match.
The Panthers continued to find success on the remaining courts as Kevin Huynh earned a straight set victory. The Eagles tried to find a point, forcing the final two courts to three-sets. A light drizzle suspended play. Georgia State did not miss a beat when action resumed, as Patrick Lazo finished with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 result on court three. With all eyes on court two for the sweep, Maughan dug deep to defeat his opposition in a super tiebreaker and seal the sweep over the rival.
"We had a lot of momentum going into the match with our win streak. It could have been a dangerous match if we did not take it seriously. It is our in-state rival, so of course we took it seriously. Credit to them for hanging in there and making it tricky for us to close at the end," said Jonathan Wolff.
The Panthers will continue Sun Belt play next weekend with outings against Troy and South Alabama.
"These will be some of our toughest matches, but you cannot take anyone lightly. We are looking forward to it. We will take tomorrow off and then hit the ground running in practice next week," said Wolff.
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