ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech men’s tennis team won its first two dual matches of the spring, defeating Charlotte and Mercer this afternoon at Bill Moore Tennis Center.
In a suspense-filled first match, the Yellow Jackets defeated the Charlotte 49ers, 4-3. Tech swept the doubles matches and, after Charlotte won the first three singles matches, the Yellow Jackets held on to win the final three.
Senior Romain Coirault and freshman Joao Menano trailed Charlotte’s Ola Jonsson and Thomas Oggesen, 6-3, at No. 1 doubles, but scored the next five points to claim an 8-6 win. Sophomores Roger Anderson and David Wright defeated Jacob Nordwall and Joakim Peterson, 8-3, at No. 2 doubles. Senior Sergio Aguirre and freshman Amit Taggar topped Simon Dawson and Jonathan McGovern, 9-7, at No. 3.
The 49ers bounced back, winning the first three singles matches of the day. Jonsson defeated Anderson, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 at No. 1. In the No. 2 spot, Nordwall got past Coirault, 6-4, 6-4, and Peterson defeated Wright, 6-1, 7-5 at No. 3.
The Yellow Jackets began their final three singles matches needing to win all three for the victory. Sophomore Stephen Moros cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 victory at No. 4 singles and freshman Alex Navinkov defeated David Bolin, 6-0, 6-4 at No. 6. With the match riding on the outcome of the No. 4 singles match, Aguirre topped Oggesen, 6-2, 6-4, in a hard-fought battle.
“I knew Charlotte would be a very tough match,” Tech head coach Kenny Thorne said, “but it was tougher than we hoped. It’s good for us. Winning a close match like that to start the season shows we’re ready to play. During the season, lots of matches are decided 4-3, so it’s good to be challenged and learn how to win. I thought Charlotte’s top three players played extremely well and our No.4-6 guys played very well against them. With a very tough trip to California (with matches against Southern California, UCLA and UC Santa Barbara), it’s good to feel the pressure.” After winning a tight match on the indoor courts early in the day, Georgia Tech moved outdoors and blew past Mercer, 7-0.
Georgia Tech swept doubles, with Aguirre and Taggar defeating Franck Kacoy and Michael Witting, 8-3 at No. 1. At No. 2 doubles, Moros and senior Jason Jeong defeated Felipe Echeverri and Subash Patel, 6-1, 6-4. Senior Gordon Hwang and freshman Travis Iams teamed to defeat Nima Akhavein and Jeff Moore, 8-5, at No. 3 doubles.
The Yellow Jackets also won all six singles matches. Anderson defeated Witting, 6-4, 6-4. Moros won his second singles match of the day, defeating Patel, 6-1, 6-4 at No. 2. Wright cruised past Kacoy, 6-0, 6-1, at No. 3 singles. Menano defeated Moore, 6-3, 6-2 at No. 4. Jeong and Hwang won their first dual matches of the year at No. 5 and 6, respectively. Jeong defeated Akhavein, 6-2, 6-1, and Hwang beat Echeverri, 6-1, 6-0.
Georgia Tech travels to California for three tough matches this week. The Yellow Jackets play at Southern California on Thursday, at UCLA on Friday and at UC Santa Barbara on Saturday.
Georgia Tech 4, Charlotte 3
Singles:
1. Ola Jonsson (UNCC) d. Roger Anderson (GT) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
2. Jacob Nordwall (UNCC) d. Romain Coirault (GT) 6-4, 6-4
3. Joakim Peterson (UNCC) d. David Wright (GT) 6-1, 7-5
4. Sergio Aguirre (GT) d. Thomas Oggesen (UNCC) 6-2, 6-4
5. Stephen Moros (GT) d. Jonathan McGovern (UNCC) 6-0, 6-0
6. Alex Navinkov (GT) d. David Bolin (UNCC) 6-0, 6-4
Doubles:
1. Coirault/Menano (GT) d. Jonsson/Oggesen (UNCC) 8-6
2. Wright/Anderson (GT) d. Nordwall/Peterson (UNCC) 8-3
3. Aguirre/Amit Taggar (GT) d. Simon Dawson/McGovern (UNCC) 9-7
Georgia Tech 7, Mercer 0
Singles:
1. Roger Anderson (GT) d. Michael Witting (M) 6-4, 6-4 09
2. Stephen Moros (GT) d. Subash Patel (M) 6-1, 6-4
3. David Wright (GT) d. Franck Kacoy (M) 6-0, 6-1
4. Joao Menano (GT) Jeff Moore (M) 6-3, 6-2
5. Jason Jeong (GT) d. Nima Akhaveon (M) 6-2, 6-1
6. Gordon Hwang (GT) d. Felipe Echeverri (M) 6-1, 6-0
Doubles:
1. Sergio Aguirre/Amit Taggar (GT) d. Kacoy/Witting (M) 8-3
2. Jeong/Moros (GT) d. Echeverri/Patel (M) 8-2
3. Hwang/Travis Iams (GT) d. Akhavein/Moore (M) 8-5
