Patrick Lazo MTEN
Daniel Wilson
4
Winner Georgia State GSU (14-7)
3
Presbyterian College PC (13-9)
Winner
Georgia State GSU
(14-7)
4
Final
3
Presbyterian College PC
(13-9)

Match Recap: Men's Tennis |

No. 69 Panthers Rally for Victory, 4-3, Over Presbyterian

Clinton, S.C.– Falling behind 3-2 with a pair of three-set matches remaining to decide the match, the Georgia State men's tennis team rallied for a victory, 4-3, over Presbyterian on Sunday. With Harvey Maughan and Patrick Lazo simultaneously clinching match point for the Panthers on court No. 3 and court No. 5, No. 69 GSU moves to first place in the Sun Belt at 5-1 and 13-7 overall.

Saturday saw GSU defeat conference opponent Coastal Carolina, 4-3, on the road. In a quick turnaround, the Panthers traveled up the road to Clinton, S.C. for a match against Presbyterian.

The Panthers once again took an early lead entering the match with a victory in doubles. With wins at the top court by No. 78 pair Andrei Duarte and Roberts Grinvalds, 7-5, as well as at court No. 2 by Maughan and partner Kevin Huynh, 6-4, GSU has now secured the deuce point in 15 of 20 doubles outings this spring.

Singles play saw a back-and-forth battle across all courts with GSU dropping positions No. 1 and No. 4 and falling behind, 2-1. Grinvalds claimed the second court with a straight-set victory, 6-3, 7-5, giving the Panthers a second point and evening the match at 2-2.

GSU fell behind, 3-2, after dropping on court No. 6 in three sets. With each of the remaining positions in a third set, the outcomes on courts No. 3 and No. 5 were to decide the match. 

Maughan posted a No. 3 singles victory, 6-4, 0-6, 6-4, while Lazo defeated his opponent, 6-2, 5-7, 6-1, at the No. 5 position to clinch the match in simultaneous fashion and earn GSU its fifth win in SBC play. The Panthers now lead the Sun Belt in wins and rank first in conference standings.

"It's always tough to play on the road— especially when it's a conference match," head coach Jonathan Wolff said. "We faced a talented Coastal team at their place that had our backs against the wall on Saturday. We knew it was their Senior Day, and that they would come with a lot of emotion. Thankfully, Harvey has found his form over the past couple of weeks and he's proven to be clutch for us. We approached today the same way, and I was really happy for him to get back-to-back clinches."

In addition to Sunday's clincher, Maughan secured the match point for GSU in the team's win over Coastal Carolina on Saturday.

"It was a tremendous effort over the weekend," Wolff said. "I'm really proud of the guys— I can't say enough about them. There's a lot of incredible leadership on this team. We have a really quick turnaround, but we're looking forward to a big match down the road against our rival on Wednesday."

GSU will close out Sun Belt competition with a match facing rival Georgia Southern on Wednesday, April 6 at 2 p.m. ET. The match will be held at Wallis Tennis Center in Statesboro, Ga with more information on live stats to follow.

In its final regular season outing of the spring, the team will return home for Senior Day on Sunday, April 10 facing Tennessee Tech. The match will be hosted by the Panthers at the GSU Clarkston Courts at 1 p.m. ET with seniors to be recognized prior to match time.

More information on Senior Day festivities and promotions will be posted to the team's social media later in the week. Follow the Georgia State men's tennis team on Twitter and Instagram (@GSUMTennis) for additional news and updates.


 
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