Bears Prepare for Pair of Weekend Matches

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer Bears men's tennis squad will play a pair of matches this weekend, hosting Stetson Saturday and traveling up I-75 to Georgia State on Sunday.

The Bears enter the weekend with a 3-5 record and are coming off a 7-0 sweep of Alabama A&M last Saturday. Olivier Stuart has a 5-2 singles record in the No. 1 flight and is ranked 46^th in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's singles poll. He is the lone SoCon player in the top-125 poll.

Stuart has two win to his credit against a nationally ranked opponents. At the time, Decamps was ranked inside the top-25.

Hugo Lobo has three wins to his credit in the No. 2 flight while Lucas Wayenburg has picked up three total wins – two in the No. 5 flight and one in the No. 6 position.

In doubles, Stuart and Lobo are a team-best 4-3 in the top flight.

GAMEDAY LINEUP (Stetson)
Date: Saturday, February 22, 2020 | 2:00 p.m. (ET)
Teams: Mercer (3-5, 0-0 SoCon) vs. Stetson (6-2, 0-0 ASUN)
Location: Macon, Ga. / LeRoy Peddy Tennis Center

SCOUTING THE HATTERS
Stetson is 6-2 overall and is riding a three-match winning streak heading into tomorrow's contest. The Hatters are perfect 5-0 at home but have gone just 1-2 on the road. Stetson's two losses came to schools in the ITA men's team poll – No. 6 Florida and No. 40 South Florida. The Hatters were shutout in both defeats.

Tim Gennes leads Stetson with a 6-2 singles record. He has recorded wins in the No. 4-6 positions with his best mark being an undefeated 3-0 in the No.6 flight. Two players – Alexandre Hillhouse and Sven Thiergard – have both won five matches.
Thiergard and Fabian Penzkofer have an .800 (4-1) winning percentage in doubles play.

GAMEDAY LINEUP (Georgia State)
Date: Sunday, February 23, 2020 | 4:00 p.m. (ET)
Teams: Mercer (3-5, 0-0 SoCon) at Georgia State (1-6, 0-0 Sunbelt)
Location: Peachtree City, Ga. / Peachtree City Tennis Center
Live Stats: Click here

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Georgia State's 1-6 record is deceiving as the Panthers have battled five teams currently ranked in the ITA men's team poll.

Georgia state opened the season with a match against Old Dominion (currently No. 50), and it did not get any easier. The Panthers also battled North Carolina (No. 4), Tennessee (No. 10), Wichita State (No. 47) and Georgia Tech (No. 38).

Georgia Sate upset Old Dominion to begin the year but has lost six consecutive contests with the last two defeats being to Clemson and Auburn.

The Panthers double team of Andrei Duarte and Roberts Grinvalds are ranked No. 58 in the ITA doubles rankings. The duo hare a combined 8-3 on the season and are 3-1 in dual matches. They are 3-1 playing in No. 1 singles.

UP NEXT
Mercer will return to action on Tuesday when it travels to Athens, Ga. to battle the Georgia Bulldogs. First serve is set for 2:30 p.m. from the Magill Tennis Complex.

Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Tennis, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerWTennis and @MercerMTennis (Twitter) and /MercerWTennis and /MercerMensTennis (Facebook) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.

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Players Mentioned

Hugo Lobo

Olivier Stuart

Lucas Wayenburg

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