COLUMBUS – No. 16-ranked and two-seeded Columbus State men's tennis built an early 3-1 lead but could not hold on, falling 4-3 to No. 19-ranked and third-seeded North Georgia in the Peach Belt Conference men's tennis semifinals on Saturday morning at the John W. Walden Tennis Center.
The Cougars (11-10) grabbed momentum early by winning the doubles point.
Benedek Szombathelyi and
Yike Liu delivered a 6-1 victory at No. 2 doubles, and
Andrea Sandrone and
Elias Peter clinched the point with a 6-2 win at No. 1 doubles. The No. 3 doubles match was left unfinished with Columbus State leading 5-2.
In singles action, North Georgia evened the match with a win at No. 5 singles, but Sandrone put CSU back in front with a hard-fought 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 3 singles. Liu extended the Cougars' advantage to 3-1 with a 6-1, 7-6 (7-2) triumph at No. 6 singles.
However, the Nighthawks (12-6) stormed back with three consecutive singles victories to steal the match. Marcos Castellanos outlasted Szombathelyi 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 at No. 4 singles, and Robin Eldin edged
Samer Al Tori 2-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 at No. 2 to knot the score at 3-3.
The semifinal came down to the No. 1 singles court, where North Georgia's 26th-ranked Pedro Liborio rallied past
Camilo Cano 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 to complete the comeback and clinch the 4-3 win for the Nighthawks.
Next Up
- The Cougars will now set their eyes upon the NCAA Regionals as they are currently slated at sixth in the regional rankings.
