‘Cats making a racquet

    The GCSU tennis teams have shown over the last two weeks why they are ranked among the best teams in the country.  Both the men’s and women’s squads have returned to their winning ways, bouncing back after suffering tough losses to high-ranked competition.
    Head coach Steve Barsby was happy with the play of both of his teams during the stretch.
    “We have been playing very solid tennis, and just happened to run into a couple of really good teams,” he said.  “The guys upsetting (Francis Marion University) was the biggest thing for them, and the girls hammered two teams after taking two tough losses.”
    The men’s victory over FMU came on March 22 in a home contest. 
    The lower-ranked Bobcats got a huge conference win, taking seven of the nine matches against the Patriots.  The win also kept the Bobcats undefeated at the Centennial courts this season.
    Sophomore Max Beliankou was named the GCSU Athlete of the Week for his 4-0 record against Merrimack and Eckerd Colleges during the week of March 30.  His two singles wins pushed his record to 13-1 on the season, and he teamed with sophomore Giovane Nucci in the two doubles victories.
    Beliankou and Nucci are impressive in the third doubles slot for the Bobcats, but doubles matches have given the men’s team a bit of trouble this season. 
    “After that first loss, I switched up the lineup a little,” Barsby said.  “While I still wish we were playing better doubles, I can see that the change is working, we’re competitive in all our matches now.”
    In most of the men’s matches this season, doubles matches have taken a back seat to their incredible singles play.  14 matches into the season, the top three Bobcat singles players have a record of 41-1.
    “Our guys are playing out of their minds in singles right now,” Barsby said.  “We’ve never had this before, it’s gotten us to the highest level I’ve seen since I’ve been here.”
    The women have been impressive all season, and have fought their way through a tough schedule.  The Lady Bobcats are currently ranked No. 15 in the ITA Division II poll, and their two recent losses were to No. 16 Florida Southern University and No. 10 Francis Marion University.
    Barsby recognizes that his women’s squad is talented, and has put the losses in the rearview.
    “To be honest, we’re looking ahead to this huge weekend and beyond,” he said.  “The girls have been playing great, we have had some great individual performances, it’s just that we ran into teams playing their best tennis.”
    The weekend begins with matches for both squads against solid University of South Carolina at Aiken squads on Friday.  Both teams will make South Carolina road trips on Sunday, with the men playing at No. 18 Anderson College, and the ladies wrapping up the weekend at Lander University.
    “Looking at the guys matchup, Aiken is a dangerous team, actually most teams in our conference are,” Barsby said.  “It’s strong top to bottom, the second through about seventh teams are pretty much comparable.”
    After the weekend double feature, only four matches remain on the regular season schedule for the ladies and three for the men.
    Barsby seemed confident in his teams’ chances in the postseason, but was quick to point out that the upcoming stretch is crucial.
     “We’re looking to stay strong and not falter down the stretch, peak in about two weeks, and have a good draw heading into the tournament, which of course makes it easier to advance,” he said.  “We’re in position to have our highest seed ever.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 4 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