CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Georgia State men's tennis punched its ticket to the championship match in the Chapel Hill Regional of the ITA Kickoff Weekend after opening the 2020 season with a 4-2 victory over Old Dominion Saturday afternoon at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.

The Panthers (1-0) will take on the winner of No.4 North Carolina/Elon in Sunday's regional championship match at 1:30 p.m., with the winner advancing to the National Team Indoors in February. Fans can watch the championship match live on PlaySight or follow along via live stats.

GSU started off the day with a strong performance in doubles play, picking up victories on courts one and two from Roberts Grinvalds/Andrei Duarte and Quentin Coulaud/Bailey Showers. Grinvalds and Duarte picked up a 6-3 victory to improve to 6-2 as a duo in 2019-20 while Coulaud and Showers earned a 7-6 (7-3) win to move to 5-1 as doubles partners, extending their win streak to four matches.

"We played good doubles from start to finish on all three courts," GSU assistant coach Matt Williams said." Rob and Duarte came ready to play and really set the tone for the match in terms of intensity and energy and Quentin and Bailey made sure we started out on top 1-0."

In singles competition, Coulaud gave Georgia State a 2-0 lead after knocking off his opponent in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2. Old Dominion answered with wins on courts two and four to even the score at two apiece.

Vazha Shubladze, who entered the dual season with a 5-1 overall singles record with two wins over ranked opponents, gave the lead back to the Panthers with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 victory at the No. 1 spot. The final two courts came down to a third set, with Showers ending it with a clinch on court six, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

"In singles, Quentin came out red-hot and never let his opponent get into the match, while Vazha overcame a slow start to grind out a tough win at one singles," Williams said. "Bailey coming from a set down to clinch the team match was massive and huge for his confidence and us as a team moving forward. Both seniors really paved the way for our success today, which excites me moving forward. It was the first of many 'senior moments' for those guys this season."

GSU 4, ODU 2

Singles Competition
1. Vazha Shubladze (GSU) def. #93 Luca Maldoner (ODU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
2. Francois Musitelli (ODU) def. Roberts Grinvalds (GSU) 6-2, 6-3
3. Quentin Coulaud (GSU) def. Jannik Giesse (ODU) 6-2, 6-2
4. Tomislav Podvinski (ODU) def. Andrei Duarte (GSU) 7-6, 6-2
5. Kevin Huynh (GSU) vs. Nicola Vidal (ODU) 7-6, 6-7, 2-4, unfinished
6. Bailey Showers (GSU) def. Younes Lalami (ODU) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
 
Doubles Competition
1. Roberts Grinvalds/Andrei Duarte (GSU) def. #47 Francois Musitelli/Jannik Giesse (ODU) 6-3
2. Quentin Coulaud/Bailey Showers (GSU) def. Luca Maldoner/Tomislav Podvinski (ODU) 7-6 (7-3)
3. Nicola Vidal/Younes Lalami (ODU) def. Vazha Shubladze/Diego Padilha (GSU) 6-4
 
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (3,2,4,1,6)
 
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