Men's tennis team headed to nationals
The University of North Georgia (UNG) men's tennis team has punched its ticket to the NCAA Division II national championship site for the first time in program history, advancing to the Sweet 16 against an opponent that will be announced soon.
UNG scored 4-3 victories against No. 11 Wingate University and No. 8 Catawba College, the third and second seeds, respectively, May 9-10 in the NCAA Southeast Regional pod hosted by Catawba in Salisbury, North Carolina. Those wins propelled the Nighthawks (14-7) into the May 20-24 NCAA championship set for Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Florida.
Head coach Kent Norsworthy, who is in his 19th season, has steadily built the program to this point, with this year marking the group's 10th NCAA tournament appearance — all since 2012.
"We've never been to the national championship before with the men. And hopefully we can get there and do some damage," Norsworthy said. "But right now we've got a few days to enjoy and celebrate."
This year's Nighthawks picked up five ranked wins before the NCAA tournament, one of which came against Catawba in early March as one of only two regular-season losses for the Indians.
The doubles pairings of Pedro Liborio/Janos Varga and Robin Eldin/Juan Cruz Blanco prevailed to give UNG the doubles point against Catawba. Franco Rebora, Marcos Castellanos and Lleyton Beasley earned singles victories for the Nighthawks.
The Liborio/Varga and Castellanos/Rebora pairings triumphed to give UNG the doubles point a day earlier against Wingate, with Liborio, Eldin and Blanco taking singles wins.
Women's tennis team wins first-round match
The second-seeded UNG women's tennis team won its first-round NCAA Division II tournament match 4-0 against No. 7 seed Georgia College & State University on May 12. UNG is hosting the first two rounds at Clemson University due to the heavy rains in Dahlonega, Georgia.
Next up for the Nighthawks (19-6) is an 11 a.m. May 13 Southeast Regional pod championship match against No. 3 seed Columbus State or No. 6 seed Lees-McRae.
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