Tennis teams get burned over break

     GCSU just got back from a much-needed Spring break, but while some of us were funneling cheap beer and sweating off sunscreen all week, others were working on the uneven tan lines unique to tennis players.
     The men’s and women’s tennis teams traveled to Pensacola, Fla., this past week to play in the White Sands Invitational. The No. 20 ranked men’s team beat University of West Alabama 8-1 but lost profusely to the No. 1 University of West Florida (0-9), No. 7 Berry University (1-8), and No. 17 Delta State (1-5).
     “Giovanni (Nucci) and I got injured so we could not play in the third and fourth matches, but the other teams were good too. They played better than us,” said senior Rodrigo Yamauti.
However, he remains confident going into the post season Peach Belt Conference tournament.
     “We are going to be stronger. We have a lot of experience so we’ll have a good chance to do well,” said Yamauti.
Along with a sluggish showing in Pensacola over the weekend, the men’s team also suffered tough losses to conference foes USC Upstate (0-9) and Augusta State (3-6).   The men however were able to pick up an important win against Columbus State (7-2) putting them into a three-way tie for fourth in the PBC with Augusta State and USC Aiken with a PBC record of 4-4.
     The team is currently on a three-game losing streak and still has to play No. 29 Francis Marion today at 2 p.m. and No. 4 Valdosta State on April 15 before the PBC Tournament.
     The No. 11 ranked women’s team had slightly better fortunes while they were in Pensacola. They lost to No. 1 BYU-Hawaii (0-9) and No. 5 University of West Florida (0-9), but they defeated University of West Alabama (9-0) and No. 23 Delta State University (5-0). Senior Celine Martin looks on the upside of their performance.
     “It was good practice. It will help us prepare for the Peach Belt Conference, where we will have to play really good teams,” Martin said.
     And she is not the only one looking forward to the super-competitive tournament.
     “I’m really excited about it because we have a really solid team,” said sophomore Gabby Acuna. “If everybody stays uninjured we should do really well and show the conference what we’ve got.”
     The Lady Bobcats have a lot of work to do before the conference tournament as they suffered tough losses in PBC prior to the tournament in Pensacola. Just like the men they lost two out their last three conference matches losing to USC Upstate (3-6) and Columbus State (2-7) while beating Augusta State (6-3).
     The women are currently in fourth with a PBC record of 7-3 and still have to face No. 17 Francis Marion today at 2p.m. and No. 4 Valdosta State on April 15. The conference championships take place on April 20-22 in Augusta, Ga.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 6 2007. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry