CSU men’s tennis defeats Lander, wins Peach Belt Conference title
COLUMBUS – With a share of the Peach Belt Conference regular season championship on the line, the ninth-ranked Columbus State University men's tennis team walked away with a decisive 6-3 win over fifth-ranked Lander Saturday afternoon. The match took place at the John W. Walden Tennis Complex.
CSU captured the program's second PBC regular season title finishing the regular season with an 18-3 overall record and a 9-1 PBC record. The Cougars share the conference title with Armstrong State, but will be the number one seed in the upcoming tournament thanks to their victory over the Pirates earlier in the year.
"This is what we have been playing for the whole year and the guys could not have performed any better," said head coach Evan Isaacs. "I'm so proud of what they achieved so far this year, but we have plenty left to accomplish."
Columbus State set the tone in doubles play taking two of the three doubles matches. The Cougars took the top spot as KP Pannu and Maciej Kierkus posted an 8-5 victory. Matei Avram and Zach Whaanga were 8-4 winners at the third position. Lander did take third doubles as Paul Sprengelmeijer and Jorge Vargas fell 8-5.
The Cougars carried their momentum into singles action as CSU registered four more wins. In a ranked showdown, 43rd-ranked Pannu took down the 35th-ranked player in the nation 6-0, 6-4. Second doubles was the tightest match of the day as Whaanga battled into a third set tiebreaker. The sophomore rebounded after losing the first set 7-6 by taking the second 6-3 before winning the tiebreak 13-11 to win the match.
At the fourth spot, Avram cruised in the first set before having to outlast his opponent in the second to take the match 6-3, 7-5. Vargas had no problem at fifth singles walking away with a 6-1, 6-1 victory.
Lander did take third and sixth singles. Sprengelmeijer fell 6-1, 6-0 at the third position while Kierkus fell 6-1, 6-1 playing as the sixth player.
The Cougars will now prepare for the PBC Tournament that will begin on April 21 in Florence, S.C. CSU will take on Young Harris in the opening round.
Singles competition
1. #43 KP Pannu (CSU) def. #35 David Korsten (LU) 6-0, 6-4
2. Zach Whaanga (CSU) def. Jules Vauthier (LU) 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 13-11
3. Elrik Groner (LU) def. Paul Sprengelmeijer (CSU) 6-1, 6-0
4. Matei Avram (CSU) def. Alexandre Springer (LU) 6-3, 7-5
5. Jorge Vargas (CSU) def. Marc Hofer (LU) 6-1, 6-1
6. Ozan Cildir (LU) def. Maciej Kierkus (CSU) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. KP Pannu/Maciej Kierkus (CSU) def. Marc Hofer/Omar El-Moslemany (LU) 8-5
2. Matei Avram/Zach Whaanga (CSU-M) def. Jules Vauthier/Ozan Cildir (LU) 8-4
3. David Korsten/Elrik Groner (LU) def. Paul Sprengelmeijer/Jorge Vargas (CSU) 8-5
This story was originally published April 15, 2017 at 9:15 PM with the headline "CSU men’s tennis defeats Lander, wins Peach Belt Conference title."