ATLANTA--The No. 55-ranked Georgia State men's tennis team cruised to a 4-0 victory in the quarterfinal round of the 2012 Virginia 529 CAA Championship vs. George Mason on Friday.
The second-seeded Panthers (20-4) eclipsed the 20-win mark for the second straight season with the dominating victory at the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center in Norfolk, Va. The win sets up a showdown of two nationally-ranked teams in No. 55 GSU and No. 42 UNCW in the semifinals on Saturday at 10 a.m. Georgia State won the last matchup between the two teams by a 5-2 margin on Apr. 8 at Piedmont Park.
Georgia State junior Victor Valente, named All-CAA First Team Singles on Thursday night, secured the win over the Patriots (16-8) on Friday. Valente notched a 6-2, 6-3 win at the No. 1 singles position over Jordan Dyke to cap a dominating performance from the Panthers.
Freshman Matias Hatem, named the CAA Rookie of the Year on Thursday, didn't drop a game en route to a 6-0, 6-0 win at the No. 2 singles position against Jimmy Davis. It was the San Miguel de Tucuman, Argentina, native's 20th win of the season as he became the fourth player in the last five seasons to eclipse the 20-win mark in singles play.
Senior, and team captain, Juan Pablo Gutierrez earned a 6-3, 6-3 victory following Hatem's win. Gutierrez is now 18-3 in singles play this season and is 9-1 in his last 10 singles matches. Gutierrez and Valente clinched Georgia State's doubles point with an 8-3 victory in the No. 2 slot. Gutierrez and Valente were named All-CAA Second Team Doubles on Thursday night.
The No. 3 doubles pair of junior Lucas Santana and freshman Jose Ortiz continued their impressive run of victories with an 8-5 triumph to begin doubles play. The duo of Santana and Ortiz, a doubles specialist from Madrid, Spain, improved to 4-0 this season with the win.
The Panthers have now advanced to the semifinals in each of the last three seasons under head coach Chase Hodges. Georgia State is seeking its first CAA Championship since 2007.
Visit the mens' tennis page on www.GeorgiaStateSports.com to find CAA Championship Central. The CAA Championship Guide, links to live stats and a live blog and information on every matchup can be found at Championship Central. Visit the men's tennis page Saturday morning for all of the information on the Georgia State men's tennis team's run in the 2012 CAA Championship.
#55 Georgia State 4, George Mason 0
Singles:
1. Victor Valente (GSU) def. Jordan Dyke (GMU) 6-2, 6-3
2. Matias Hatem (GSU) def. Jimmy Davis (GMU) 6-0, 6-0
3. Thomas Cook (GSU) vs. Jorge Osuna (GMU) 6-1, 2-6, unfinished
4. Juan Pablo Gutierrez (GSU) def. Scott Keaton (GMU) 6-3, 6-3
5. Ismael Lahlou (GSU) vs. Taylor Sargent (GMU) 6-2, 5-1, unfinished
6. Lucas Santana (GSU) vs. Joseph Wiggins (GMU) 6-3, 4-3, unfinished
Doubles:
1. Matias Hatem/Thomas Cook (GSU) vs. Christopher Borden/Jordan Dyke (GMU) 7-7, unfinished
2. Victor Valente/Juan Pablo Gutierrez (GSU) def. Scott Keaton/Joseph Wiggins (GMU) 8-3
3. Lucas Santana/Jose Ortiz (GSU) def. Taylor Sargent/Jimmy Davis (GMU) 8-5
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (2,4,1)
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