Senior Andoni Garmendia secured the doubles and match-clinching singles points to lead the Georgia Gwinnett College men's tennis team past NCAA Division II Lander University (South Carolina) 5-2 on Tuesday afternoon at the GGC Tennis Facility.

The Grizzlies (2-0), ranked No. 1 in the NAIA Top 25 Preseason Poll, used strong doubles play to grab an early advantage in the match. Senior Jeremias Rocco teamed with junior Santiago Villarruel to earn a decisive 6-2 victory on the No. 1 court.

Then, the duo of senior Aleksandr Kalinin and Garmendia broke the serve of Lander's Brendan Jayaprakash and Harry Pugh on the No. 2 court. That closed out a hard-fought 7-5 triumph to collect the match's doubles point.

GGC's lead quickly grew to 2-0 behind a dominant 6-1, 6-3 victory from Rocco on the No. 1 singles court. Villarruel put the hosts on the brink of victory with a 6-0, 6-4 win at No. 3 singles.

Following a Lander triumph on the No. 2 court, Garmendia defeated Max Barriere by a 6-4, 6-0 score at No. 5 singles for the team's fourth point of the match.

Junior Luis Francisco Sampedro rounded out the singles winners with a 6-4, 6-3 triumph on the No. 4 court.

The Grizzlies have won both matches this spring against Division II opposition.

Georgia Gwinnett College seeks to defend its Intercollegiate Tennis Association NAIA Indoor National Championship. The Grizzlies are the top seed in the eight-team tournament field.
 
Coach's Corner
"It was a good day with some great moments. This match was good preparation for the indoors nationals, with good match experience against a quality opponent. Jeremias (Rocco) has been working hard and is very motivated after returning from not playing last year. I saw some exciting things out of him today," said Head Coach Hannah Keeling.
 
Up Next
Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to face No. 8 seed William Woods University (Missouri) in the quarterfinal round of the ITA NAIA Indoor National Championship on Friday, January 31, at Overland Park, Kansas, starting at 12:30 p.m.