MARIETTA, Ga. - The men's tennis team set the school record for victories in a season today after sweeping past Young Harris College by a score of 5-2, before taking out Jacksonville State for the first time in three tries, downing the Gamecocks, 4-3.

In the morning matchup with Young Harris (6-8), the Owls (10-8) utilized their depth in singles to take out the Mountain Lions.  The Owls gave themselves a 1-0 lead after taking a close doubles point when the freshman duo of Alex Toliver and Matthew Johnson teamed up to take down Taylor Hamala and Devin Hampton, 8-6.  The other victory for the Owls came from the first-time pairing of Alexander Pena and Gianni Kubin, who defeated Tom Gibaud and Koen Gottenbos at No. 2, winning 8-3.  The Owls raced to wins at positions 4 through 6 to put the match out of reach.  Kubin, Pena and junior Michael Browder picked up the wins at 4, 5 and 6, respectively.  Also winning for the Owls was freshmen Louis Theodor, who took down Joan Valls, 6-4, 6-3.

The afternoon matchup would see the Owls struggle in doubles, as they dropped the early advantage with losses at the top two spots.  The Owls did pick up an 8-6 win at the No. 3 spot by Theodor and fellow freshman Alex Toliver.  In the singles, the Gamecocks gained the early advantage with a routine 6-1, 6-1 win by Nenad Marcec over Owl senior Simon Janik.  The Owls would respond with a win at No. 4, as Kubin took down Jordan Cowling, 6-4, 6-1.  The Gamecocks would put themselves within one win of the match as they took the No. 6 spot in straight sets, but the Owls fought back from a 3-1 deficit for the second week in a row, as Theodor picked up the win at No. 1 singles, playing in the top spot for the first time.  He took down Gamecock junior No. 1, Axel Sundberg, 6-4, 6-4.

The final two matches on court would see both go to a deciding third set tiebreaker.  In the first completed, Toliver would recover from a second set defeat to take out junior Igor Santos, 7-5, 3-6, 1-0(8).  WIth the match on the line, junior Gokalp Ozdemir would play hero as he fought through a lengthy tiebreaker before finally winning when a shot from Felipe Watanabe sailed wide, handing the match to the Owls, 4-3.  The final score of Ozdemir and Watanabe's match was 5-7, 6-1, 1-0(9) in favor of Ozdemir.

The Owls will take on Atlantic Sun Conference rival Mercer tomorrow at noon at Fair Oaks Tennis Center.  Admission is free to the public.

KENNESAW STATE 5, YOUNG HARRIS 2

Singles
1) Gabriel Oliveira (YHC) def. Alex Toliver (KSU) 1-6, 6-4, 1-0(5)
2) Louis Theodor (YHC) def. Joan Valls (YHC) 6-4, 6-3
3) Martin Harach (YHC) def. Gokalp Ozdemir (KSU) 6-0, 6-7(8), 1-0(8)
4) Gianni Kubin (KSU) def. Tom Gibaud (YHC) 6-1, 6-2
5) Alexander Pena (KSU) def. Koen Gottenbos (YHC) 6-0, 6-1
6) Michael Browder (KSU) def. Devin Hampton (YHC) 6-2, 6-2

Doubles
1) Oliveira/Valls (YHC) def. Browder/Simon Janik (KSU) 8-4
2) Kubin/Pena (KSU) def. Gibaud/Gottenbos (YHC) 8-3
3) Matthew Johnson/Toliver (KSU) def. Hampton/Taylor Hamala (YHC) 8-6


KENNESAW STATE 4, JACKSONVILLE STATE 3

Singles
1) Louis Theodor (KSU) def. Axel Sundberg (JSU) 6-4, 6-4
2) Alex Toliver (KSU) def. Igor Santos (JSU) 7-5, 3-6, 1-0(8)
3) Nenad Marcec (JSU) def. Simon Janik (KSU) 6-1, 6-1
4) Gianni Kubin (KSU) def. Jordan Cowling (JSU) 6-4, 6-1
5) Gokalp Ozdemir (KSU) def. Felipe Watanabe (JSU) 5-7, 6-1, 1-0(9)
6) Felipe Wenzel (JSU) def. Alexander Pena (KSU) 7-6(6), 6-2

Doubles
1) Sundberg/Marcec (JSU) def. Michael Browder/Janik (KSU) 8-3
2) Santos/Cowling (JSU) def. Kubin/Pena (KSU) 8-2
3) Theodor/Toliver (KSU) def. Wenzel/Watanabe (JSU) 8-6