RESULTS

STATESBORO, Ga. – The Kennesaw State men’s tennis team opened the Georgia Southern Championships with a strong showing in doubles, winning three of four matches on Friday at the Hanner Tennis Complex.
 
"We had an up and down day today, but I was very proud of how we rebounded from some losses,” said Head Coach T.J. Greggs. “Our doubles was excellent. Matt and Gokalp pulled off a big upset today, and the other three teams all played very well. We have three teams into the second round of doubles and we are doing the right things out there."
 
The tandem of junior Gokalp Ozdemir (Ankara, Turkey/Walton HS) and sophomore Matthew Johnson (Roswell, Ga./Roswell HS) pulled an 8-3 upset of Georgia Southern’s number one doubles team, Matthijs Verdam and Rayane Djoulad. Sophomore  Louis Theodor (Jakarta, Indonesia/Jubilee School) and freshman Tobi Menhofer (Pfronten, Germany/Gymnasium Hohenschwangau) earned a 8-1 win, while sophomores Alexander Pena (Johns Creek, Ga./Lambert HS) and Alex Toliver (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral HS) notched an 8-4 victory.
 
In singles action, Menhofer and Ozdemir each opened with a win as Menhofer tallied a 6-4, 6-3 win over USCA’s Patrick Stiebinger and Ozdemir notched a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Gerardo Villalon of SCAD, before falling in round two.
 
Freshman Maksim Yorsh (Minsk, Belarus/R.S.C.O.R), along with Toliver, Pena and Wilton each dropped their first round match, but rebounded for wins in the consolation bracket. Johnson split a pair of matches in the gold draw, while Theodor fell twice on the day to round out the Owls.
 
Check ksuowls.com throughout the tournament for results and a recap after each day’s action is completed.