ATLANTA, Ga. – The Citadel men's tennis team dropped a pair of matches Wednesday evening, falling 7-0 and 6-1 to Georgia Tech on the road at the Ken Byers Complex.

The doubleheader with the Yellow Jackets wrapped up a stretch where the Bulldogs played six matches over the span of five days in three states (South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia).

Match Information
Location: Atlanta, Ga. (Ken Byers Complex)
Match 1 Final Score: Georgia Tech 7, The Citadel 0
Match 2 Final Score: Georgia Tech 6, The Citadel 1
Records: GT (2-0); The Citadel (0-9)

Match 1 (2 p.m.): Georgia Tech 7, The Citadel 0
In the day's first match, the tandem of junior Noah Nawabi and freshman Phillip Quinn claimed four games in their No. 3 doubles match against Zummy Bauer and Joseph Gandolfo. The duo ultimately fell 6-4.

The doubles point was decided after GT won at No. 1 and No. 2 with matching 6-1 scores. At No. 1 doubles, Carlos Divar and Phillip Gresk teamed up to defeat sophomore Gavin Stewart and junior Willem van Zyl. At No. 2, sophomore Will Graham and senior Roy Hobson fell to Cole Gromley and Andrew Li.

In singles action, Stewart put together a strong performance at No. 5 singles, forcing his first game to go 7-5 in favor or Bauer. Bauer closed out the longest singles matchup of the day with a 6-1 win in the second set.

At No. 3 singles, Nawabi also took six games from Chris Yun, falling 6-1, 7-5, while van Zyl took five games from Gandolfo in a 6-4, 6-1 loss at No. 4 singles.

At No. 1 singles, Gromely defeated Hobson 6-0, 6-1, with Jack Pyritz taking four games from Gresk in a 6-3, 6-1 loss at No. 2. Quinn closed out the competition with a 6-1, 6-1 loss at No. 6 to Brandon Freestone.

Match 1 Results
Doubles
1. Carlos Divar / Phillip Gresk (GT) def. Gavin Stewart / Willem van Zyl (Citadel) 6-1
2. Cole Gromley / Andrew Li (GT) def. Will Graham / Roy Hobson (Citadel) 6-1
3. Zummy Bauer / Joseph Gandolfo (GT) def. Noah Nawabi / Phillip Quinn (Citadel) 6-4 

Singles
1. Gromley (GT) def. Hobson (Citadel) 6-0, 6-1
2. Gresk (GT) def. Jack Pyritz (Citadel) 6-3, 6-1
3. Chris Yun (GT) def. Nawabi (Citadel) 6-1, 7-5
4. Gandolfo (GT) def. van Zyl (Citadel) 6-4, 6-1
5. Bauer (GT) def. Stewart (Citadel) 7-5, 6-1
6. Brandon Freestone (GT) def. Quinn (Citadel) 6-1, 6-1


Match 2 (6:30 p.m.): GT 6, The Citadel 1
The second match of the day started off very similar to the first with Georgia Tech taking claiming a clean sweep of the doubles competition to claim the point.

At No. 1 doubles, Divar and Gresk bested Nawabi and Quinn 6-3 in the closest matchup of the session. Gromley and Li defeated Stweart and van Zyl 6-0 at No. 2, and Bauer and Gandolfo defeated Pyritz and Hobson 6-2 at No. 3.

In singles action, Hobson finished his day on a high note, defeating Li 6-4, 6-4 for his first dual win of the season.

Stewart took four games from Gandolfo in a 6-4, 6-0 loss at No. 4 singles and both Graham and Quinn claimed three games in their singles matchups. Graham fell 6-0, 6-3 to Freestone at No. 5 and Quinn dropped his No. 6 singles matchup 6-3, 6-0 to Bauer.

Pyritz and Nawabi rounded out the day at No. 2 and No. 3 singles. Pyritz fell 6-0, 6-1 to Divar and Nawabi fell 6-0, 6-0 to Gresk.

Match 2 Results
Doubles
1. Carlos Divar / Phillip Gresk (GT) def. Noah Nawabi / Phillip Quinn (CIT) 6-3
2. Cole Gromley / Andrew Li (GT) def. Gavin Stewart / Willem van Zyl (CIT) 6-0
3. Zummy Bauer / Joseph Gandolfo (GT) def. Jack Pyritz / Roy Hobson (CIT) 6-2

Singles
1. Hobson (CIT) def. Li (GT) 6-4, 6-4
2. Divar (GT) def. Pyritz (CIT) 6-0, 6-1
3. Gresk (GT) def. Nawabi (CIT) 6-0, 6-0
4. Gandolfo (GT) def. Stewart (CIT) 6-4, 6-0
5. Brandon Freestone (GT) def. Will Graham (CIT) 6-0, 6-3
6. Bauer (GT) def. Quinn (CIT) 6-3, 6-0


QUOTABLES FROM COACH KRIESE
"Roy has been a guy that has operated out of trust and belief since he was a freshman and he continues to put in the work," said head coach Chuck Kriese. "It's beautiful because as a freshman, he only played occasionally, but he has worked his way up to be our No. 1. The player from Georgia Tech that he beat, he beat the No. 28 player in the nation from UGA earlier in the week, then Roy turns around and beats him. It's a great win, but it's more about how he did it: on the road, in front of their fans, with both teams watching since it was the last match left playing on the court. The other kid didn't flinch. He played very well down the stretch as well and didn't commit any unforced errors. Roy had to earn every point. It wasn't a fluke where the other kid struggled, it was a knock-down, drag out match. It's what I've been looking for and waiting for and it shows what I've talked to the guys about. It's about doing all the right things day after day, week after week and still trusting the process.

"We are done with the indoor part of our season. Indoor tennis is different and we don't have indoor facilities here. You have to train and play differently, but we play these early season matches to get our ball striking up and to get the focus set on a high bar. The downside is when guys get beat, you worry about their confidence dropping or them taking steps backwards. What Roy did showed our guys this is what we aspire to do and now they have to go do the work. We have seen some good things happen already this season, like Phillip getting a win up at Clemson. Our doubles are continuing to get better, we have played tough, but we're not making the proverbial free throws. We're not doing things at the end of matches to convert losses into wins. Every guy has to continue to step up and do the right things. I feel confident we will look back at Roy's win and see that as a critical stepping stone in our season."

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs will be off or just over a week before traveling to Sumter for the USC Sumter Invitational Friday, Feb. 1 – Saturday, Feb. 2.

For more information and score updates on The Citadel men's tennis team, please visit CitadelSports.com and follow @CitadelMten on Twitter and @CitadelSports on Twitter and Instagram.