ATLANTA--Georgia State begins
its first season under head coach Joerg Barthel with a road match at
Chattanooga on Friday at 6 p.m.
The
No. 63-ranked Panthers return several starters and letterwinners from last year's
squad including senior Victor Valente who enters the year ranked No. 54 in the
ITA National Singles Rankings. Also returning is junior Thomas Cook who will be
an important piece in the top half of GSU's singles and doubles lineup. Senior
Lucas Santa Ana is an experienced winner with 52 career singles victories. Also
returning is sophomore Sofiane Chevallier who enjoyed a solid rookie season
compiling nine singles wins.
Valente
holds down the top spot in the lineup and Cook is expected to be a mainstay at
the No. 2 or No. 3 positions after an All-CAA campaign last year. The addition
of four newcomers to the team this season will allow for flexibility in the
rest of the singles lineup and the doubles pairings. GSU's first-year players
include Chinmay Handa, Paul Schuette, Robert Schulze and Andrew Zedde. All are
expected to contribute this season.
Barthel
begins his first season as Georgia State's head coach following a successful
run as the Associate Head Coach at the University of Nebraska. During his
tenure the Cornhuskers earned their first two NCAA berths in school history and
first two appearances at the ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championships.
"Chattanooga is a well-coached team with a lot of senior leadership, they have gotten better every year over a three-year span and have become a very good team," Barthel said, "We will be ready for the challenge and we look forward to starting the season. Our guys have been waiting to get out on the courts and compete."
Chattanooga
is an experienced squad as it returns eight players, including seven seniors,
from a team that notched a 14-9 record last season. The 14-9 record was
Chattanooga's best since 2007. Senior Roberto Vieira is a three-time All-Southern
Conference player and leads the Mocs at the top singles spot.
Georgia
State follows Friday's opening match with its home opener on Monday against
Tennessee Tech at the Peachtree City Tennis Center (10 a.m.).
Live
stats for Friday's match will be available courtesy of gomocs.com. Fans can follow the men's tennis program on Twitter at "@GSUMTennis" for live updates of Friday's match and all matches this season. Visit the
Georgia State men's tennis page following the match for a full recap of the
team's first dual match of the 2013 season.
www.GeorgiaStateSports.com
