Newly Ranked Saints Fall to Cougars in PBC Top 25 Matchup
DAHLONEGA, GA – The No. 25 North Georgia men's tennis team was dealt their first home loss of the season on Thursday afternoon falling 7-2 to No. 8 Columbus State at the North Georgia Tennis Complex.
The loss snaps a five match winning streak for the Saints (12-3, 2-2 PBC), while the Cougars (16-1, 6-0 PBC) won their 10th straight match.
Doubles action was highlighted by the best match of the day at No. 1, as Felipe Friedrich and Mateus Camasmie found themselves locked into a marathon with Columbus State's Martin Shishkov and Olivier Simonet who are ranked No. 6 in the country.
Both sides traded games throughout the match and were forced into a tiebreaker tied 8-8. After dropping the opening point in the tiebreaker, the North Georgia duo started to pull away and eventually a Camasmie (pictured below) ace clinched the win and sent the crowd into a celebration.
In singles action, the Saints dropped five of the six matches in straight sets. Friedrich scored the lone win for the Saints taking a three set thriller over the No. 23 ranked singles player in the country. Friedrich picked up a win in the opening set before having to rally for a 13-11 victory in the third set tiebreaker.
Giovani Santos dropped a heartbreaker at No. 5 singles, falling 7-5, 6-3 in the final match of the day to give the Cougars a 7-2 victory on the road.
It's a quick turnaround for the Saints as they host Lander in another top 25 matchup on Saturday, March 31. First serve is set for 1:00 pm.
#8 Columbus State 7, #25 North Georgia 2
Mar 29, 2012 at Dahlonega, Georgia (North Georgia Tennis Complex)
| Singles competition |
| 1. Felipe Friedrich (NGMEN) def. #23 Olivier Simonet (CSUM) 6-4, 2-6, 13-11 |
| 2. Quentin Rayniere (CSUM) def. Mateus Camasmie (NGMEN) 6-1, 6-4 |
| 3. Martin Shishkov (CSUM) def. Mathew Guida (NGMEN) 6-3, 6-4 |
| 4. Oussama Zoghlami (CSUM) def. Rodrigo Magan (NGMEN) 6-1, 6-0 |
| 5. Danilo Sardelli (CSUM) def. Giovani Santos (NGMEN) 7-5, 6-3 |
| 6. Michael Trebuhov (CSUM) def. Brandon Sloan (NGMEN) 6-0, 6-1 |
| Doubles competition |
| 1. Felipe Friedrich/Mateus Camasmie (NGMEN) def. #6 Martin Shishkov/Olivier Simonet (CSUM) 9-8 (7-2) |
| 2. Quentin Rayniere/Danilo Sardelli (CSUM) def. Mathew Guida/Rodrigo Magan (NGMEN) 8-4 |
| 3. Adi Malicbegovic/Michael Trebuhov (CSUM) def. Giovani Santos/Brandon Sloan (NGMEN) 8-4 |
| Match Notes |
| Columbus State 16-1, 6-0 PBC; National ranking #8 |
| North Georgia 12-3, 2-2 PBC; National ranking #25 |
| Order of finish: Doubles (,2,1,3); Singles (4,2,3,1,6,5) |
| Official: CJ Weaver T-4:25 A-82 |
