Men’s Tennis Finishes No. 2 in Sun Conference Championships

By Kevin Price with Christy Lynn Wilson

After two days of battling it out on the courts, College of Coastal Georgia men’s tennis team earned a second-place finish in the Sun Conference Championship here Friday as the No. 20 Mariners fell to No. 6 Keiser by a 5-2 score in the league tournament championship match.

“Our guys represented Coastal Georgia well,” said Coastal’s head coach Zack Rogers. “We fought hard, but in the end just came up a little short.”

The teams were facing off in the tournament finals a second straight year at the Marta B. Torrey Complex on the College’s Brunswick campus.

Coach Rogers congratulates the Mariners on their effort and excellent play in the Sun Conference championships.

The Mariners advanced to the championship match last season in its first campaign in the Sun Conference.

Again, this spring, the Mariners and Seahawks were the top two seeds in the postseason tournament as Keiser claimed the No. 1 seed and regular-season crown by handing the Mariners their only defeat in league action during the regular season.

With Friday’s victory over the Mariners, the Seahawks claimed their fourth straight Sun Conference tournament title. They have swept the regular-season and tourney championships the last four years.

The top four teams in the league standings after the regular season qualify for the conference tournament.

On Thursday, Coastal Georgia edged Southeastern 5-4 in one semifinal while the Seahawks eased past Webber International with a 5-0 victory in the other semifinal.

Keiser has earned the Sun’s automatic entry into the NAIA national championship tournament next month by claiming the conference tournament crown. Coastal Georgia is hoping it will get an at-large bid to nationals when the tournament field is announced next week.

“Now, our fate is in the hands of the raters,” Rogers said, alluding to those around the NAIA who rank the teams across the country throughout the season. “I think we’ve proven we are a top-15 school and deserve a trip to the national tournament.”

In Friday’s final, Keiser jumped ahead 2-1 in the match by winning two of the three doubles points over the Mariners.

Original story published on CoastalGeorgiaSports.com.