The Georgia Gwinnett College men's tennis program took top honors in singles and doubles action at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's South Regional, conducted this weekend at the GGC Tennis Facility.
FINAL DRAWS: SINGLES | DOUBLES | SINGLES CONSOLATION
Junior
Federico Bonacia was part of both titles and posted eight victories over the three-day tournament, which concluded Sunday. After winning the singles title, he teamed with junior
Valentino Caratini to capture the doubles championship, advancing to the ITA's Oracle Cup, taking place Oct. 16-18 in Rome, Georgia.
Bonacia's singles match against Martin Mendoza of Reinhardt University (Georgia) went the distance, lasting two-and-a-half hours. The junior used a late service break to capture the opening set 6-3. Mendoza turned the tables in the second set by breaking Bonacia to clinch the set 6-4. Then, the GGC player turned up the intensity early in the deciding set by jumping out to a 2-0 lead.
"Getting that early break (in the third set) helped me mentally. I was pumped up and knew that I could pull out the victory," said Bonacia.
His advantage grew to 4-1 with a second break in the third set. Bonacia would seal the victory on serve to clinch the regional singles title by a 6-2 score. The victory avenged a straight-set loss to GGC sophomore
Jose Dugo in last year's singles ITA South Regional final.
"I kept telling myself that losing wasn't going to happen again. I executed my shots and changed some of my tactics," said Bonacia.
The doubles final featured multiple momentum shifts with teams from top-seeded GGC and Reinhardt, seeded No. 3, which once again featured Bonacia and Mendoza. The tournament host team got a service break to win the first set 6-4, and jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second set. However, Reinhardt battled back to come within one game, 5-4, before the GGC team got another break to cap the victory by a 6-4 score.
"We stayed together and played the key points really well," said Caratini. "In these kind of matches, it is very important to win that first set. That gave us the confidence and momentum to pull out the match."
"When [Federico] lost that second set, I saw his desire to win only increase. He became much more focused. He played that final set to perfection. I am super proud of him and his effort throughout this tournament. Experience by Federico and Valentino was exhibited in the doubles final match. They have played together for some time. You can't coach that experience and that familiarity typically prevails in a competitive match," said Head Coach
Chase Hodges.
Georgia Gwinnett College players will now compete in the ITA Oracle Cup from Oct. 16-18 in Rome, Georgia.
