Dalton State men’s and women’s tennis took the court for the first time on Wednesday and the teams got a good look at what it takes to be the best at the extremely competitive NAIA Division I level.  The Georgia Gwinnett Grizzlies bested the Roadrunners nine to zero in the match.  Georgia Gwinnett’s men’s team is ranked in the top 5 nationally and their women’s team is ranked number 20 and rising after another convincing victory against NCAA Division II power Clayton State.

  “Our team got a nice wake up call today,” said women’s coach Michel Bates.  “It will be good for us going forward to show us what it takes to compete with one of the top, if not the top, program in the country.”

After dropping the doubles matches, both the men and women showed bright spots against the Grizzlies.  Hadyn Fava (Ringgold, GA), Adam Hornby (Christ Church, New Zealand) and Nikolay Nikiforov (Moscow, Russia) were particularly impressive against their opponents.  For the women, Daniela Sanchez (Bogata, Columbia) and Diana Narino  (Bogata, Columbia) were bright spots.

“Georgia Gwinnett has one of the strongest program in the NAIA or the NCAA,” said men’s coach Zack Rogers.  “We did not play well in doubles but I was encouraged by how we fought in singles.  We are a work in progress, but we will be a very competitive program in year one and especially as we gain experience.”

The men and women both play this weekend at Lakeshore Park, with the men playing at 1:00 on Friday and the women playing at 1:00 on Saturday. 

Results:

Women:

Doubles

Podda/Koroimpus (GGC) def. Winter/Narion (DS)  8-1

Salvo/Fernandez (GGC) def. Bejarano/McCutchen (DS)  8-3

Cortina/Swenson (GGC) def. Powell/Sanchez (DS) 8-4

Singles

Podda (GGC) def. Winter (DS) 6-0, 6-0

Salvo (GGC) def. Sanchez (DS) 6-3, 6-2

Korimpis (GGC) def. Narino (DS) 6-4, 6-3

Fraaijenhoven (GGC) def. Powell (DS) 6-0, 6-3

Fernandez (GGC) def. McCutchen (DS) 6-1, 6-0

Schwab (GGC) def. Bejarano (DS) 6-1, 6-0

Men:

Doubles

Moberg/Verryth (GGC) def. Souza/Nikiforov (DS)  8-1

Clements/Tiberti (GGC) def. Arguello/Fava (DS)  8-1

Hatem/Morland (GGC) def. Hornby/Draghiceanu (DS) 8-1

Singles

Verryth (GGC) def. Draghiceanu (DS)  6-0, 6-1

Tiberti (GGC) def. Nikiforov (DS) 6-1, 6-3

Hotem (GGC) def. Hornby (DS)  6-3, 6-0

Moberg (GGC) def. Souza (DS) 6-1, 6-2

Clements (GGC) def. Fava (DS) 7-6, 6-1

Kostadinov (GGC) def. Arguello (6-1, 6-0