Bobcats serve up hot start

    The GCSU tennis teams kicked off their seasons this weekend in dominating fashion.  The men’s team won all three of its contests, and the ladies were victorious in each of their two.
    Friday, Feb. 9, was the first day of matches for GCSU, when the men faced Morehouse College at home.  The No. 20 Bobcats simply overmatched the Maroon Tigers, taking all seven matches.
    The wins included a sweep of the two doubles matches, with redshirt junior Erick Siquera and sophomore Giovanni Nucci taking victory in the first-team doubles match 8-5 and the rookie-veteran connection of freshman Francis Yoshimoto and senior Matthew Belenchia controlling the second-team doubles match 8-2.
    The No. 17 ladies would have to wait until Saturday to be unleashed.  When they finally got a shot at the competition, the Lady Bobcats took full advantage. 
    The opponent was Georgia Southwestern State University, also the first Peach Belt Conference foe of the season, and the Lady Bobcats looked impressive in a 9-0 victory.
    The doubles teams lost only three total games, with the first team of senior Celine Martin and sophomore Diane Danna taking their match 8-2, the second team of junior Marjorie Ceppo and senior Sofia Intriago coming away with an 8-1 win, and the third team of junior Marie Lefevre and freshman Bertille Lion recorded an 8-0 shutout.
    Singles competition turned out to be just as mismatched, with Martin, Ceppo, Danna, Lefevre, Intriago, and Lion each picking up convincing wins.
    Head coach Steve Barsby likes the way his ladies team is set up.
    “We have an ideal lineup of a senior at the first spot and a junior at number two,” he said.  “Since two new players are at the third and fourth spots, there is less pressure on them early in the season and they have time to adjust.”
    The men’s team moved to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the PBC on Saturday, following the ladies’ lead by sweeping the Hurricanes 9-0.
    The doubles teams were not generous, giving GSW only one game each in their matches.  The 8-1 victories came from the familiar combinations of Siquera/Nucci and Belenchia/Yoshimoto, as well as a new third team of sophomores Max Beliankou and Joao Casagrande.
    In singles play, Siquera came out a winner in a hard-fought match, in which he dropped the first set but recovered to win the next two, including a 7-6 final set with a 7-3 tiebreaker. 
    The other singles players saw little resistance from the Hurricanes, with the exception of senior Tony Bertucci, who prevailed in the only other match that required a third set.
    Sunday completed the marathon first weekend for the Bobcats, with their first ranked opponent, No. 33 Limestone College, hosting GCSU at their Gaffney, S.C. campus.
    The improved competition, the road trip and inclement weather combined to make things difficult for the Bobcats. 
    The ladies dropped their first match of the season but would win the eight others to improve to 2-0 on the season.  The men had significantly more trouble with the Saints, scratching out a 5-4 overall win that pushed them to 3-0.
    The ladies’ only loss was recorded by the second doubles team, but the Martin/Danna and Lefevre/Lion teams were again strong in victories.
    The Lady Bobcats were again too much for their opponent in singles play, winning all six matches in convincing fashion.  Junior Gabby Acuna picked up her first win of the season, in her first match, to compliment victories from Martin, Ceppo, Lefevre and Intriago.  Lefevre took her match 6-0, 6-0 and has shut out both of her opponents this season.
    “The ladies are playing great this season,” Barsby said. “The Limestone matches were affected a lot by the weather; it was just a bad day to play tennis, but we still came out on top.”
    The men’s team ran into a Saints team that came to play and did not back down from the higher-ranked Bobcats. 
    It took five hard-fought singles wins from Siquera, Yoshimoto, Nucci, Beliankou and Casagrande to make up for the doubles teams dropping all three matches.
    Barsby was optimistic about the season overall, but was disappointed with the results on Sunday.
    “I’m more worried about the guys than the girls this year in terms of results,” he said. “I will definitely change up the doubles teams a bit this week and see what happens.”
    The opening weekend provided an easy start to the season, but the road quickly becomes rocky for the Bobcats.  A Feb. 16 trip to Columbus to face The University of West Florida will be a harsh measuring stick for both teams.
    “It’s too soon to know what we have,” Barsby said. “Both West Florida teams are in the top five, so that will show us something.”
    After the tough road match-up, the Bobcats return home to face the University of Alabama at Huntsville on Feb. 17. 
    Both Bobcat teams look to be strong contenders in the PBC this season and look to build on their early success.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Feb 15 2008. 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