BRUNSWICK, Ga. — The Ave Maria Men's Tennis team dropped their first of two matches in Georgia, falling to the RV Coastal Georgia Mariners 4-2. Both of the Gyrenes points came in the singles round of the match.

Coastal Georgia got the doubles point, winning the first two pairings 6-4 and 6-3, respectively. Pedro Garcia and Juan Garcia were leading their set 5-4 when the round was called in favor of the Mariners.
In the singles round, CCG won the first pairing to finish, bumping their score up to 2-0.

Joao Felipe Almeida got the Gyrenes on the board for the first time as the second to finish, winning the sixth pairing in three sets 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. It is the first time this season a Gyrene has won back-to-back sets after dropping the first to clinch the point.

Coastal Georgia got back their two-point lead with a win in the third pairing, moving one point away from winning.

Pedro Garcia held the Mariners off for one more pairing, winning the second pairing in two straight sets 6-2, 6-3.

The Mariners clinched the match with a win in the third pairing.

One singles pairing was left unfinished. In the fifth slot, Gianmarco Punzo was in a tight battle in the third set. Punzo dropped the first 6-3 but came back to win the second 6-2. He was leading the third set five games to four, but it was called unfinished due to CCG clinching the match.

With the loss, Ave Maria falls to 5-4 overall and 1-1 in conference play.

The Gyrenes continue their stay in the Peach State as the return back to the courts Saturday, March 22, to take on the No. 11 SCAD Bees. SCAD is 8-4 on the year and 2-0 in Sun Conference play. Friday, they defeated Florida National, whom Ave Maria also beat for their first conference win, 4-0. The match is set to start 1 p.m.