Men’s tennis starts season off strong despite changes

       After hiring a new assistant coach and welcoming four new signees, the No. 65 ranked Georgia State men's tennis team earned a win in their 2012 season opener and secured their first conference win of the season with a 6-1 victories over Lipscomb and Old Dominion. Georgia State, now 2-0, got six straight wins against Lipscomb and notched five single victories against Old Dominion.

        Freshmen that shined in both of these events were Matias Hatem and Ismael Lahlou. Hatem earned the first singles win against Lipscomb, following Isamel who took a 6-4,6-4 match notching a victory for Georgia State. Sophomore Thomas Cook and Junior Victor Valente helped by getting straight set victories against Old Dominion.

      The Panthers started their string of dominance with their preseason play at the Florida Gulf Coast University Invite by winning both games.  The Invite was hosted at the Three Oaks Tennis Complex and featured Florida Gulf Coast, Georgia State and South Alabama.

      During the first day of the tournament, the Panthers posted a 6-2 record in singles following a 5-3 mark in doubles. The tournament did not affect the team's overall record but did count towards individuals rankings.

       One player that shined during this game was Freshmen Jose Ortiz, by going a perfect 3-0 in two doubles and a singles match. Other double winners were Senior Juan Gutierrez, Junior Victor Valente,  Hatem and Sophomores Cook and Michael Vallejo.

      On the second day of the FGCU Invite, the team posted a 5-3 record in doubles and took an amazing eight of nine matches in singles. Despite the accomplishment, Head Coach Chase Hodges says the team can still improve.

      "I feel that we played very solid tennis this weekend," said Hodges.  "It was evident that we were the best team at the event. We do have many things that we can improve upon and we will get better and better as the season progresses."

       Two key players, Valente and Hatem, shined during this event by wining six of seven points to earn a win over South Alabama's Romain Bocaert and Christian Kuehne. Both also earned single victories in the afternoon session.

      "I'm expecting Victor to do big things for us this year," said Hodges. "He is capable of beating any player in college tennis. Also we feel that Matias will be one of the best freshmen in the CAA this season."

      The Panthers have made some big changes to their team before the season started. Scott Curry was recently added to the team as a full time assistant coach this month. Other new additions to the team were four freshmen who came from locations across the world.

      These newcomers include Sofiane Chevallier, Ortiz, Hatem and Vallejo. As a result, this is one of the youngest teams in the NCAA men's tennis.

     "Our goal is to be playing our best tennis in April for the CAA tournament," said Hodges. "In men's tennis, the CAA is an outstanding league.  We hope to put ourselves in a position to play for a conference championship."

     Georgia State will take on Elon this Saturday in Columbia, S.C. at 10 a.m.