MTEN Andrei Duarte
0
South Alabama USAM (10-6)
4
Winner Georgia State GSUM (10-6)
South Alabama USAM
(10-6)
0
Final
4
Georgia State GSUM
(10-6)
Winner

Match Recap: Men's Tennis |

Duarte Clinches as Panthers Sweep South Alabama, 4-0

ATLANTA- Following Saturday's win over Troy in the team's conference opener, the Georgia State men's tennis team shut out South Alabama, 4-0, on Sunday as Andrei Duarte claimed the match point for the Panthers at court position No. 1. Securing a tenth victory on the season, GSU moves to second place in the Sun Belt with the win.

GSU entered its second conference outing facing South Alabama for the first time since coming up short against the Jaguars in the Sun Belt title match a season prior. Doubles saw an exhaustive battle for the early lead as the Panthers fought to secure the deuce point with wins on court No. 3 by Patrick Lazo and Diego Padilha and court No. 1 by No. 74 Duarte and Roberts Grinvalds.

Grinvalds posted a resolute victory, 6-3, 6-3, on singles court No. 2 giving the Panthers a 2-0 lead. Lazo claimed court No. 6 with a win, 6-2, 7-5, to give the team a 3-0 advantage. 

Duarte's win, 6-1, 7-6, at the top position clinched the sweep over South Alabama as GSU closed out the weekend slate 2-0 at home. The fifth year finished unbeaten in match play for the Panthers over the weekend with strong wins in No. 1 singles and doubles.

"Andrei was really clutch at the No. 1 spot this weekend," head coach Jonathan Wolff said. "He's been able to accept that position and become a leader at the top spot. He's come a long way and it's clear that he believes he can be that No. 1 player for our team."

Now 11-3 in both singles as well as doubles competition with partner Grinvalds, the fifth year's match performances once again garnered Sun Belt Player of the Week consideration.

"I'm very proud of how hard our whole team competed all weekend," Wolff said. "We knew Troy and South Alabama would bring their A-games, and they did. We had a very close doubles point in each match, but I think we played our deuce points and our breakers more assertively. We practiced all week to play those pressure points with confidence and aggressiveness— in our tie-breakers, while saving and converting on set points, while saving and converting on match points— and I think it showed over the weekend. I'm really happy for the guys that were able to find their form again. There are a lot of positive takeaways from this week."

GSU will return to play next weekend with road matches against Sun Belt foes UT Arlington on Friday, March 25 at 1 p.m. ET and Louisiana on Sunday, March 27 at 10 a.m. ET. The Panthers are currently second place in the conference behind first-ranked Louisiana.

"It's always tough facing conference opponents and defending your home court," Wolff said. "Those teams definitely always want to beat us and we felt that this weekend. I want the guys to enjoy being 2-0 in the conference, but we know conference play is just getting started and some of these road matches will be even tougher. We'll take a day to recover, then get back to work on Tuesday for a quick turnaround road trip to Texas and Louisiana."

Information on live stats for each match will be posted to the team's social media accounts leading up to the weekend doubleheader on the road. Follow the Georgia State men's tennis team on Twitter and Instagram (@GSUMTennis) for the latest news and updates throughout the season.

 
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