LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – The Citadel (4-20) tennis team dropped a pair of matches to Georgia Gwinnett (15-0) on Friday at the GGC Tennis Facility, falling 7-0 in the opener before closing the day with a 5-1 loss. 

Georgia Gwinnett claimed the doubles point in the first match with wins at all three positions, then added six singles victories to complete the 7-0 result. Noah Van Dyke competed at No. 1 singles for the Bulldogs, while Brady Gober, Ted Bagwell, Reese Beckendorf, Nick Stroumpis and Graham Hardin rounded out the lineup.

In the second match, Ted Bagwell earned The Citadel's lone point with a three-set win at No. 4 singles after taking the opening set 7-6 and closing it out in the decider. Brady Gober also forced a third set at No. 1 singles after winning the opening set, while Nick Stroumpis claimed the first set at No. 6 before Georgia Gwinnett pulled away for the 5-1 win.

"Georgia Gwinnett has won multiple NAIA national championships in a row and has outstanding players at every position," head coach Chuck Krise said. "I love playing them because of the reps we get and the quality of competition. Getting to play the second match was great because our guys really raised their level. Ted Bagwell played great in the morning and came back to pull out a tight match in the afternoon. We also had tough three-set matches from Brady Gober at No. 1 singles against one of the top players in the country and from Nick Stroumpis, who really pushed his opponent. Those reps are critical for us. It was an outstanding day for weather, and the tennis was very good from start to finish. I'm very appreciative of Georgia Gwinnett and the competition we get from playing them year after year."

The Bulldogs continue weekend play on Saturday with matches against Emory-Oxford and Georgia Tech.