AMERICUS, Ga. – Spring sports season has already kicked off on the softball and baseball diamonds, but they are not the only sports kicking off for the rest of the academic year. The GSW men's and women's tennis teams are lacing them up for their 2012 season.
The "Fightin' Brennon Sewell's" will be kicking things off on Wednesday, February 8th at Columbus State University. As always, competing in the Peach Belt Conference is no easy task. In the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's preseason rankings, seven of the top ten ranked women's teams in the Southeast region were PBC teams. This includes the top five teams. In the men's rankings, the PBC is even stronger representing eight of the top ten ranked teams in the region.
Head Coach Brennon Sewell will field a men's team that includes five returners from a 2011 team that went 7-15. Headlining those returners is sophomore Stephen Moore who went a team best 11-10 in 2011. The Valdosta native, and the other four returners, will welcome six newcomers to this year's team. The fresh faces also bring an international flavor to the team with players hailing from Uzbekistan and France among others.
The ladies of GSW Tennis saw a little more success in 2011. They went 14-12 last season, but will have to replace the graduating Leady Cuellar. Cuellar had the best record of any GSW Tennis player with a 13-12 mark. Fortunately for the Lady Hurricanes, they are returning five of their seven players from last season. Returners include Mollie McGowan, Melinda Vansant, Kalie Douberly, Jessica Rigdon and Ginny Jones. Those five will be joined by three in-state newcomers.
The Hurricanes will have 21 matches this spring with ten of them being at home on the campus of Georgia Southwestern State University. To keep tabs on Coach Sewell and crew, follow them at www.gswcanes.com.