Feb. 20, 2014

GGC 5, Lander 4

Trailing 3-0 for the first time, the fourth-ranked Georgia Gwinnett men’s tennis team stormed back and defeated NCAA Division II #7 Lander (S.C.) on the road Thursday, clinching a 5-4 victory with sophomore Tony Kostadinov’s 7-6, 7-6 singles victory in the final contest in Greenwood, S.C.

The Grizzlies found themselves behind after doubles play as Lander captured all three doubles points, but GGC won five of the six singles matches to remain unbeaten and move to 6-0. Lander fell to 3-2 with its first home loss.

“There are not many teams that would come back from being down 3-0 on the road against the #7 Division II team in the nation,” said Grizzlies head coach Chase Hodges. “I am so proud of this team for fighting and never giving up. Our team gained a lot of confidence with this win over a great Lander team.”

Georgia Gwinnett suffered a doubles sweep for the first time in 18 matches with Lander’s 8-3, 8-5 and 8-3 wins.

The Grizzlies jumped back in the match quickly with straight-sets singles wins on the four top lines to surge ahead 4-3.

Bruno Tiberti improved to 6-0 with his 6-4, 6-2 win at first singles over Vincent Verpeaux. Mark Verryth (5-1) followed with a 6-2, 6-1 win, Matias Hatem (6-0) earned a 6-4, 6-1 decision and Erik Moberg (5-0) posted a 6-2, 6-3 result to put GGC in front.

After Connor Clements dropped a 7-6, 2-6, 6-4 decision at fourth singles that tied the match, the outcome was up to Kostadinov.

“Tony stepped up in a huge way for us and I’m very impressed with his performance.”

The native of Sofia, Bulgaria captured a pair of tiebreakers to edge Lander’s Diego Zegarra on the number six line and give GGC its fifth straight road win, all of which came over a ranked NAIA or Division II opponent.

The Grizzlies moved up one spot to number four in Tuesday’s NAIA Men’s Tennis Coaches’ Top 25 Poll.

Hodges’ squad returns to Lawrenceville next Wednesday, taking on Morehouse at the GGC Tennis Facility in the first of three straight home matches at 2 p.m.