MOBILE, Ala. – In a match that could readily be described as routine, the top-ranked and No. 1-seeded Georgia Gwinnett men's tennis team eased past 17th-seeded McPherson in 5-0 fashion in the second round of the NAIA National Championship at Mobile Tennis Center.
"The men played very well, and to finish in under an hour and 45 minutes is great," GGC Head Coach Chase Hodges said. "I thought that the guys did a very good job at getting on them early. We took it to them from the start and got that 3-0 lead, and it was going to be pretty difficult to get past us after that."
The Grizzlies, who now sit at 13-2 on the year, booked a trip to the quarterfinals for the second consecutive season as they look to defend their 2014 national championship.
McPherson ended its season with a 17-6 record.
GGC grabbed the early lead as the team dropped just five games across three doubles matches. Jordan Cox and Kevin Konfederak picked up an 8-2 win at No. 1, beating the nation's 18th-ranked tandem of Joan-Marc Fajula Rodriguez and Ahmed Lahlou. Connor Clements and Matias Hatem made it look easy in an 8-0 win over Hector Carillo and Jose Maria Carillo on line two, and the Australian duo of Lachlan McPhee and Luke Morland completed the sweep with an 8-3 decision against Allen Darmawan and Hugo Ball-Greene.
In singles, all six Grizzly players picked up an opening set victory, but it was Clements and McPhee who sealed the quarterfinals berth. McPhee earned his team-best 13th win of the season by beating Jaime Roman 6-0, 6-0 on line five to put GGC in the driver's seat, and Clements followed up shortly thereafter in 6-1, 6-0 fashion vs. Ball-Greene.
The Grizzlies will return to action on Thursday against eighth-seeded San Diego Christian, which is coming off a 5-4 thriller against William Carey. First serve is set for 2 p.m. Eastern.
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