GPC Jaguar Men's Tennis: News :: Georgia Perimeter College

GPC Jaguar Men's Tennis: News :: Georgia Perimeter College

GPC Jaguar Men's Tennis: News

Jaguar Men's Tennis News Seventh Place NJCAA National Tournament 2011
National Champion 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001

April 27, 2012

GPC receives bid to nationals;drop final regular season match

Stick a big asterisk next to the Georgia Perimeter College men’s tennis loss Friday to Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College on the Dunwoody campus.

The Jaguars—who learned this week that they have an at-large bid to attend the NJCAA national tournament—stumbled 6-3, with half of the lost matches attributed to injuries. Ismail Lemtouni skipped the proceedings with a sore leg muscle. With no replacement on hand, GPC defaulted on a singles and a doubles match.

Then Davis Dawson developed a sore wrist in his singles match against Hernan Hatem and defaulted with the score 6-2, 2-0 in Hatem’s favor.

Coach “Reda” Nait Omar expressed confidence that both players woud be healed by the NJCAA championships that commence May 13 in Plano, Texas.

The Jaguars did win two of the three singles matches that were completed. Eric Verdi, at No. 4, held on to beat Danilo Faria 6-7, 6-4, 12-10 in a three-set marathon. Gelawdiyos Haile, at No. 5, had a much easier time against Ricky Symanski 6-1, 6-0. In the featured singles match, Menford Owusu was trailing Oliver Snaider 3-4 when ABAC’s coach pulled Snaider out. Owusu was declared the winner.

Preston Samowitz, at No. 3, nearly made it a singles sweep of matches contested but could not finish off Taylor Hardy, who won 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 11-9.

Both doubles matches were closely contested. Owusu-Haile were edged by Snaider-Faria 9-8 (7-4) and Samowitz-Verdi by Hatern-Hardy 9-7.

The Jaguars split two dual encounters with the rival Stallions this season. ABAC claimed the Region 17 title, but GPC received an at-large bid to the nationals.

Jaguars fall to ABAC in championship 5-4

The Georgia Perimeter College men’s tennis team might still be bound for the National Junior College Athletic Association national tournament, but it must wait awhile for confirmation.

The Jaguars lost to rival Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College 5-4 on the Stallions’ courts in Tifton Friday in excruciating fashion for the NJCAA Region 17 Championship.

Abraham Baldwin, ranked seventh in the nation by the International Tennis Association, earned the automatic bid, while No. 3 GPC anticipates an at-large invitation to the tournament May 12-18 in Plano, Texas.

The exciting battle between the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (Region 17) powers came down to No. 3 doubles Friday evening. GPC’s Eric Verdi and Preston Samowitz, shut out in the first set, took the second 6-3 over Tim Kueckelhaus and Ricky Symanski. The final set was extended to a tiebreaker, which ABAC won 7-6 (7-4) for the title.

Everybody at the tournament was intensely focused on the doubles finale, including a large and vocal contingent of ABAC students—some barechested and painted with the school’s colors—who piled on Symanski and Kueckelhaus when they secured the winning point.

The Jaguars had rallied from a 4-2 singles deficit by taking the other two doubles matches. Davis Dawson and Ismail Lemtouni downed Oliver Snaider and Danilo Faria 7-5, 6-4. Gelawdiyos Haile and Menford Owusu handled Taylor Hardy and Trutz Hennsen 6-4, 6-4.

“It was a great comeback for us in doubles,” GPC coach Mohamed “Reda” Nait Omar said. “The first and second teams really earned their wins—they compteted hard and played well as a team. What cost us was in singles.”

Only two of six Jaguars managed victories in singles. Owusu overcame Snaider at No. 1, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1. Haile, at No. 6, stopped Symanski 6-1, 6-2.

“Our [other] players could have done better in the singles,” Nait Omar said. “Going into doubles, we would have had a better chance as a team.”

One defeat came abruptly when Dawson, at No. 3 singles, was disqualified in a tiebreaker. Henssen was declared the winner 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2-5). Lemtouni, at No. 2, bowed to Hernan Hatern 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. Samowitz fell to Hardy 6-0, 6-3, and Verdi to Faria 7-5, 6-3.

The Jaguars received an at-large bid to the nationals last season and finished seventh in the nation, one spot ahead of ABAC. Lemtouni earned a spot on the NJCAA All-America team when he and Salif Kante won the No. 1 doubles championship.

The Jaguars’ excellent season this spring—with a loss only to nationally ranked NCAA Division 3 member Emory College—bodes well. The highlight of the season was a 7-2 win over ABAC on April 1.

Jaguar Journal: GPC geared up for postseason

If coach “Reda” Nait Omar wears old T-shirts for Georgia Perimeter College matches in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association men’ s tennis tournament this weekend, it’ s not because he can find no time for a load of laundry.

Nait Omar, in a nod to superstition, often sticks with the same tried-but-true apparel when the team is thriving.

This season has given him no reason to update the wardrobe. The Jaguars are 7-1 entering the playoff competition for state junior colleges in Tifton. Their only setback came against NCAA Division 3 powerhouse Emory University, ranked second in the national poll.

GPC took two matches by 9-0 and three more by 8-1. But it was one of the two 7-2 victories that has Nait Omar and the Jaguars dreaming of a return engagement at the NJCAA championships beginning May 13 in Plano, Texas.

On the same courts in Tifton where the GCAA tournament will unfold, visiting GPC handily outdueled renowned rival Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, which has ruled the state for years.

“Our guys performed pretty well against ABAC,” Nait Omar said of the April 1 win. “It gives us a little bit more confidence” heading into the conference tournament.

The outcome confirmed Nait Omar’ s belief that the Jaguars are stronger top-to-bottom than last season’ s squad that placed seventh in the nationals.

“I think we can take a step beyond that,” said Nait Omar, downplaying any concerns over a freshmen-heavy roster. “If everyone plays well and competes hard, I don’ t see why we can’ t at least have a chance to win at nationals.”

Davis Dawson of Alpharetta (Northview High) and Gelawdiyos Haile of Marietta (Lighthouse Christian Academy) have led the freshman contingent, providing plenty of support for headliners Menford Owusu and Ismail Lemtouni.

“He gives us good security” with solid play at No. 3 singles, Nait Omar said of Dawson.

Haile, who has held down No. 4 singles for most of the season, “fights and battles for every point,” Nait Omar said. “He doesn’ t give you anything for free.”

The final two singles spots are occupied by Eric Verdi of Alpharetta (Centennial High) and Preston Samowitz of Marietta (Pope High). Both were in command all season, easing the pressure on Owusu and Lemtouni.

Owusu, an acclaimed freshman from Ghana, was bothered at times by severe headaches. An adjustment to the eyeglasses that he wears on court is the likely solution, according to Nait Omar, but the fix must wait until after the season.

“He’ s done OK,” Nait Omar said of Owusu, who arrived on campus with lofty expectations. “He should have won some matches that he lost.”

The lone NJCAA tournament experience rests with Lemtouni, runner-up at No. 2 singles last year and doubles champion with the graduated Salif Kante.

“He’ s been there. He knows what it takes,” said Nait Omar, who is counting on the Moroccan for leadership, setting an example for his younger teammates.

“That’ s where I’m going to hold him accountable.”

Owusu is no stranger to the demands of a tournament in the U.S. Last October, he claimed third place at the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships. His opponent? Lemtouni, who retired from their match with an injury.

Nait Omar has paired Lemtouni with Dawson at No. 1 doubles all season. “They complement each other’ s game,” the coach said. “They have good camaraderie.”

He is looking for a more aggressive approach from Owusu-Haile at No. 2. Three other Jaguars rotate positions at No. 3 doubles.

The depth has enabled Nait Omar to conduct long, intense practices, also made possible by an avoidance of injuries. “That’ s been the icing on the cake,” he said.

A regional title is not the only means of entry to the nationals, as the Jaguars learned blessedly last year with an at-large bid.

But Nait Omar prefers not to leave anything to chance. “We want to win it, definitely,” he said. “I feel like we are peaking at the right time.”

Reflecting Nait Omar’ s optimism before the season was an unusual scheduling twist. On April 27, a week after the regionals, GPC welcomes ABAC to the Dunwoody campus for a return dual match.

With the tune-up, the coach was banking on a bid—automatic or otherwise—to the big dance.

“This is just to get us ready before we go to the nationals,” he said confidently.

Surely there will be room in his suitcase for some well-worn T-shirts.

JAGUAR JOLTS: Aside from its loss to GPC, ABAC was unbeaten against region foes. The Stallions played in Atlanta on Wednesday at Emory, the team that kept the Jaguars from a perfect regular season. . . .Kante, the GPC standout a year ago, was named Player of the Year in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Kante had an 18-5 record through last weekend for Florida A&M. … The Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association is also known as Region 17 of the NJCAA.

Jaguars win another by 9-0 score

The Georgia Perimeter College men’s tennis team could not be hotter entering its conference tournament next weekend. On Thursday the Jaguars (7-1) took their second 9-0 match in three outings, this time at Emory at Oxford.

They will carry a 7-1 record into the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association tournament in Tifton. Their only loss came at the hands of Emory University’s varsity squad.

GPC could not have been more dominant in doubles at Oxford, capturing all three matches by 8-0.

It was Davis Dawson and Ismail Lemtouni over Gustavo Linde and Zac Husman, Gelawdiyos Haile and Menford Owusu over Alex Day and Martin Polterfield, and Preston Samowitz and Eric Verdi over Nick Moore and Jordan Rosenthal.

The most competitive singles encounter was No. 3 Dawson over Husman 6-1, 6-3.

At No. 2, Lemtouni defeated Day 6-0, 6-0, giving the Jaguar sophomore All-American a shutout in singles and doubles.

Owusu tamed Linde 6-1, 6-1 in No. 1 singles. At No. 4, it was Samowitz over Moore 6-1, 6-0.

Haile downed Polterfield by the same score at No. 5, while Verdi tripped up Rosenthal 6-1, 6-1.

The Jaguars stand a good chance in the upcoming tournament. They upended perennial champion Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, the host school, 7-2 on April 1 at the tournament site.

The winner of the tournament, which begins on Friday, April 20, will earn a ticket to the National Junior College Athletic Association tournament in Plano, Texas. The nationals event begins on May 6.

ABAC will visit Georgia Perimeter on April 27 for a regular-season league match at the Dunwoody Campus courts.

Jaguars defeat powerhouse Abraham Baldwin 7-2

Georgia Perimeter College gave notice Sunday to the longtime ruler of men’s tennis in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association that its reign might soon be over.

Davis Dawson

Ismail Lemtouni

Gelawdiyos Haile

The Jaguars defeated powerful Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College 7-2 on the Stallions’ home courts in Tifton on Sunday in a possible preview of the GCAA tournament that ABAC has dominated for years.

The victory improved GPC’ s record to 6-1 with the only loss coming to a NCAA Division 3 school, Emory University.

Davis Dawson, Ismail Lemtouni and Gelawdiyos Haile were victorious in singles and doubles for GPC.

Dawson downed Danilo Faria 6-1, 6-1. Lemtouni was pushed by Hernan Hatem but recovered to win 6-2, 5-7, 6-2. Haile handled Taylor Hardy 6-4, 6-3.

Dawson and Lemtouni teamed in doubles to knock off Kamil Snaider and Danilo Faria 8-2. Haile took a thriller with partner Menfor Owusu 9-8 over Hatern and Hardy, winning the tie-breaker 7-2.

Two other nail-biters went GPC’s way in singles. Preston Samowitz beat Tim Kueckelhaus 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, and Eric Verdi rallied against Braden Amylin 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Owusu bowed to Snaider 7-5, 6-3 in the only singles setback for GPC. Samowitz-Verdi dropped a doubles decision to Richard Symanski and Kueckelhaus 8-3.

The Jaguars head out of town on April 12 to meet Oxford of Emory in Covington.

Jaguars overwhelm Gadsden State

Once again, the Georgia Perimeter College men’s tennis team won a match. Once again, it was not close, a fitting performance for a return visit by last year’s All-American, Salif Kante.

Salif Kante, former All-American for GPC, gets the team fired up before the match. Photos/Bill Roa

The Jaguars (5-1) overwhelmed Gadsden State (Ala.) Community College 9-0 on Sunday at the Dunwoody campus courts. GPC had won three matches this season by 8-1 and one by 7-2. (Its only loss was by 8-1 to NCAA Division 3 power Emory University).

Kante, the 2011 national No. 1 singles champion and No. 1 doubles champion with Ismail Lemtouni, inspired the team with a visit to his alma mater to watch a match. Kante currently plays on scholarship for Florida A & M University.

The only scare against the Cardinals came in No. 1 singles. Menford Owusu, who dropped his match Wednesday while suffering from headaches, eked out a 7-5 win in the opening set against Zain Nawab, then had an easier second set, winning 6-2.

The most dominant singles victory was at No. 3, where David Dawson blanked Tyler Grimes 6-0, 6-0.

Freshman Patrick Smith won his doubles match 8-1 with fellow freshman Preston Samowitz.

At No. 2, Ismail Lemtouni took care of Aaron Triplett 6-1, 6-2. Other GPC winners: No. 4 Gelawdiyos Haile over Karin Sheffey 6-1, 6-0; No. 5 Eric Verdi over Daniel Robertson 6-1, 6-2, and No. 6 Preston Samowitz over Demetrius Thompson 6-1, 6-1.

Patrick Smith, who did not play singles for GPC, made the most of his doubles match, teaming with Samowitz to trip up Steffey-Thompson 8-1. Lemtouni-Dawson had no trouble against Nawab-Triplett, winning 8-2. The Owusu-Haile twosome was just as sharp, handling Grimes-Robertson 8-3.

“Everyone did a great job,” GPC coach Mohamed “Reda” Nait Omar said. “All our players competed well in doubles. They stayed with the strategy for singles and got the job done. Haile and Dawson get a lot of credit for staying disciplined during their singles.”

The schedule is about to grow more difficult. The Jaguars head to Tifton on April 1, when they take rival Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, a perrenial power in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association.

Jaguars near perfect in 8-1 win

Gelawdiyos Haile, left, and Menford Owusu won their doubles match 8-1. Photos/Bill Roa

March 15, 2012 Jaguars near perfect in 8-1 win Georgia Perimeter College came one match short of perfection Thursday, dominating Itawamba (Miss.) Community College 8-1 in men’s tennis on the Dunwoody campus.

No. 1 singles player Menford Owusu, suffering from headaches, had difficulty seeing the ball under the bright sun, according to GPC coach Mohamed “Reda” Nait Omar.

Still, Owusu extended Lewis Butler deep into three sets before bowing 2-6, 6-4, 10-6.

Owusu managed to help his team secure a doubles point. He and Gelawdiyos Haile, at No. 2, took down Kat Gardner and Stephen Montgomery 8-1.

No other Jaguar dropped a set.

In fact, Haile, Davis Dawson and Preston Samowitz won every game in their singles matches.

Ismail Lemtouni, left, and Davis Dawson won their doubles and singles matches.

No. 3 Dawson blanked Gardner, No. 4 Haile handled Luke Wilson and No. 6 Samowitz silenced Stephen Montgomery.

At No. 2, Ismail Lemtouni tripped up Lucas Souga 6-2, 6-1. No. 5 Eric Verdi bounced James Jackson 6-3, 6-0.

Lemtouni and Dawson were pressed by Butler-Souga before winning 8-4 at No. 1 doubles, the same score that Verdi-Samowitz beat Wilson and Charlie Curtis by at No. 3.

“We were focused and engaged in the match,” Nait Omar said. “We are starting to work well in doubles. In singles we executed the strategy.”

The Jaguars (4-1) are back home Sunday for a 1 p.m. encounter with Gadsden State (Ala.) Community College.

The Jaguars’ home tennis matches are played at GPC’s Dunwoody Campus, 2101 Womack Road, Dunwoody, Ga., 30338. Follow the Jaguars on Facebook and Twitter.

February 25, 2012

Jaguars improve record to 3-1 against 4-year schools

The relative strengths of the Georgia Perimeter College and College of Coastal Georgia men’s tennis teams proved unchanged Saturday from their season-opening match a month ago.

Ismail Lemtouni, left, had a good day. Photos/Bill Roa

Eric Verdi reversed January’s result with a win.

In their home-court debut, the Jaguars downed the visitors 8-1, the same score when they met in Brunswick.

All matches except for Nos. 1 and 2 singles were completed in straight sets as the Jaguars moved to 3-1, all against four-year institutions.

Most of the day’s excitement was built into the top singles encounters. At No. 2, Ismail Lemtouni defeated Derrick Taylor 6-3, 2-6, 6-0.

Menford Owusu, at No. 1, could not duplicate the feat, falling to Louis Volmar 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. In the Jan. 28 match at Brunswick Owusu defeated Volmar in two sets.

Singles points were secured by Davis Dawson (7-5, 6-2 over Robin Lucas); Gelawdiyos Haile (6-2, 6-1 over Connor Bond); Eric Verdi (6-4, 6-1 over Leif Shuman) and Preston Samowitz (6-3, 6-1 over Malhar Mahi). Verdi had lost his singles match to Bond at Brunswick.

Owusu contributed in doubles, joining Haile to stop Bond-Mali 8-2 at No. 2. Davis-Lemtouni, the Jaguars’ primary doubles duo, handled Volmar-Taylor 8-1.

Samowitz-Verdi completed a GPC doubles sweep, taking down Lucas-Shuman 8-4.

GPC remains at home for two more matches, the first on March 15 against Itawamba Community College.

The Jaguars’ home tennis matches are played at GPC’s Dunwoody Campus, 2101 Womack Road, Dunwoody, Ga., 30338. Follow the Jaguars on Facebook and Twitter.

February 17, 2012

Lemtouni and Dawson win, but No. 2 Emory too much for Jaguars

The sun did not shine on the Geogia Perimeter College men’s tennis team Friday.

Powerful Emory University, ranked second in NCAA Division 3, exercised their right to move the matches indoors on the Emory campus and took down the Jaguars 8-1. GPC, unaccustomed to playing under a roof, opened with a doubles win and nearly got another. But it all unraveled in singles, which were swept by the Eagles (3-0).

“We could have beaten them. All the close ones went their way,” Jaguars coach Mohamed “Reda” Nait Omar said. “If we had played outdoors, it might have been a different story.”

Ismail Lemtouni and Davis Dawson gained GPC’s only point with an 8-5 doubles win over Dillon Pottish and Simon Lauoisse-Perusse.

Preston Samowitz and Eric Verdi came close, bowing 8-6 to Will Humphreys and Brian Konaisui.

The other doubles match was more decisive, Gelawdiyos Haile and Menford Owusu falling to Elliot Kahler and Dan Wagner 8-3. Of the half-dozen singles matches, No. 4 Haile came closest for GPC. He lost to Halpern 6-0, 4-6, 6-4.

The singles matches were determined in straight sets: Owusu stumbling to Pottish 6-2, 6-2; Dawson to Konaisui 6-2, 6-4; Lemtounti to Wagner 6-1, 6-4; Verdi to Lauoisse-Perusse 6-2, 6-1, and Samowitz to Alex Ruderman 6-1, 6-0.

“The guys played pretty well,” Omar said. “We earned respect from Emory.” The Jaguars (2-1) play their long-awaited home opener Feb 25 at 1 p.m. on the Dunwoody campus. The opponent is College of Coastal Georgia, which GPC handled 8-1 last month.

The Jaguars’ home tennis matches are played at GPC’s Dunwoody Campus, 2101 Womack Road, Dunwoody, Ga., 30338. Follow the Jaguars on Facebook and Twitter.

February 11, 2010

Jaguars stun Shorter, No. 10 in NAIA

The Georgia Perimeter College men’s tennis team on Friday stated, loud and clear, its intent on returning to the NJCAA national tournament.

Led by All-American Ismail Lemtouni and Menford Owusu, the Jaguars toppled Shorter College 7-2 in Rome. Shorter, a four-year college, came into the match ranked 10th in the NAIA poll.

“It was a big win,” coach Mohamed “Reda” Nait Omar said. “I think that it shows how far we have come over the last few years. We have great depth in the team this year and our players were better prepared for their matches. It shows that GPC, as a junior college can compete at any level.”

Owusu took care of Romain Lefevre at No. 1 singles 6-2, 6-2, while Lemtouni outlasted Romain Ferriera 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 at No. 2 singles.

Lemtouni collaborated with Davis Dawson at No. 1 doubles to defeat Lefevre and Guillaume Ledrap 8-1. Owusu teamed with Gelawdiyos Haile at No. 2 to eke past Ferriera and Florain Etienne 8-6.

Nait Omar noted that Lemtouni overcame a sore back that developed in the second set.

“We changed the strategy for the third set to keep the rally short and be more aggressive,” Nait Omar said.

Dawson and Haile repeated their doubles success in singles. Dawson, at No. 3, coasted past Ledrap 6-0, 6-1. Haile blitzed Colt Kelley 6-3, 6-3.

GPC scored a point at No. 5 singles when Shorter’s Arturo Lifshitz retired with an injury against Preston Samowitz, who was two games from a straight-sets victory.

Patrick Smith fell at No. 6 singles to Etienne 6-0, 6-1. He and Samowitz lost a 9-7 doubles marathon to Kelley-Lifshitz.

The Jaguars continue their ambitious road schedule at Emory University next Friday, beginning at 2 p.m..

January 28, 2012

Jaguars win 8-1 in season opener

The Georgia Perimeter College men’s tennis team took its first step on the journey back to the NJCAA tournament with a resounding 8-1 win Saturday over College of Coastal Georgia in Brunswick.

Touted freshman Menford Owusu set the tone at No. 1 singles by defeating Louis Volclair 6-4, 6-2, then teamed with Gelawdiyos Mesfin at No. 2 doubles to down Robin Lucas and Derrick Taylor 8-0.

Coach Mohamed “Reda“ Nait Omar deployed returning All-American sophomore Ismail Lemtouni at No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles for the second straight year. Lemtouni responded with a 7-6, 6-1 triumph over Taylor and teamed with Davis Dawson to defeat Volclair and Malhar Mali 8-3.

GPC’s Preston Samowitz also accounted for two points. Playing No. 6 singles, he spotted Leif Shuman a set, then rallied 4-6, 6-2, 7-5. Paired with Patrick Smith, he won at No. 3 doubles over Connor Bond and Alejandro Aquilino 8-6.

Dawson outslugged Lucas at No. 3 singles 6-3, 6-4, while Mesfin dominated Mali 6-1, 6-0.

Coastal Georgia’s lone point came on Bond’s down-to-the-wire win over Eric Verdi, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6.

The Jaguars are bound for Spartanburg, S.C., next Saturday for encounters with Spartanburg Methodist College and the University of South Carolina Lancaster.

January 26, 2012

Jaguars set goals high with talented duo and depth

One half of the potent pair atop the Georgia Perimeter College men’s tennis roster from last season has departed. The Jaguars’ rivals have no reason to celebrate.

All-American Ismail Lemtounti, national top flight doubles champion and runner-up at No. 2 singles, is back for an encore. Salif Kante, who swept the National Junior College Athletic Association No. 1 singles title and doubles crown (with Lemtouni), is not, having earned a full scholarship to Florida A&M.

Kante’s highly anticipated replacement is freshman Menford Owusu, who arrives as prepared for the adjustment as any newcomer at GPC from halfway across the globe—thanks, in large part, to his friend Kante. Yet Kante—or, more specifically, his legacy—looms as a challenge for Owusu.

Owusu, a freshman out of Ghana, fills Kante’s sneakers at No. 1 for GPC, and coach Mohamed Reda” Nait Omar expects them to fit him comfortably.

“He came highly recommended by Salif,” said Nait Omar, whose graduated star did much of the recruiting legwork. “Salif is the one that basically passed the torch.”

Nait Omar hesitates to draw comparisons to his standouts of the present and recent past. “They are two different people,” he said. Menford is his own guy.”

But the coach acknowledges that their skill set and experience puts them on the same plane, with Owusu possibly a tad superior.

“Mentally, he is very, very strong,” Nait Omar said. “He doesn’t panic.”

Owusu offered a glimpse of the near-future by taking third at the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships in October over Lemtouni, who retired from their title match with an injury. Owusu begins the spring season ranked fifth by the NJCAA, three slots ahead of Lemtouni as the Jaguars endeavor to improve on their seventh-place team finish at the national tournament.

“We’re going to try and surpass it,” Nait Omar said. The preseason poll suggests that they will. GPC holds down the No. 4 rating, though ballots were submitted before Issey Ijuin, projected as the team’s third-flight player, left school.

Lemtouni, who followed Kante to GPC from Morocco, was his playing partner for the NJCAA doubles crown.

“He is coming back in good form,” Nait Omar said. “I think he’ll play a little bit more relaxed.”

Christian Bellina, the No. 3 singles player a year ago, also completed his eligibility, but an influx of freshmen has fortified the roster from top to bottom. All but one of the eight members are fresh out of high school.

“Depth-wise, we are pretty strong,” Nait Omar said. The recruiting travel budget was not overstressed, with all freshmen other than Owusu home-grown, reflecting local awareness of the program.

“Based on our success last year, a lot of kids around the metro area that I’ve worked with really started to think, ‘Do I want to go to Georgia and Georgia Tech and not play, or to go GPC and play?’” Nait Omar said.

The biggest upside might belong to Davis Dawson of Alpharetta (Northview High), whose coach expects him to contribute immediately. In fact, Nait Omar envisions Dawson pressing Lemtouni for the No. 2 role.

Eric Verdi of Alpharetta (Centennial High) and Preston Samowitz of Marietta (Pope High) received preseason recognition with national rankings of 30th and 47th, respectively. Patrick Smith of Marietta (Wheeler High) was listed at 61st.

Rounding out the class are Jonathan Cyprian of McDonough (Strong Rock Christian School) and Gelawdiyos Haile of Marietta (Lighthouse Christian Academy).

An assist on recruiting efforts came from assistant coach Akeem Byron, a former GPC player who is in his second year on the staff.

The first order of business is unseating longtime Region 17 ruler Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College as the state champion. The Jaguars did edge ABAC by one spot at the nationals, and seizing bragging rights in Georgia at the region tournament in Tifton is a priority.

“Hopefully, we will get them this year,” Nait Omar said. The duel match schedule is highlighted by encounters with ABAC in Tifton on April 1 and at GPC’s Dunwoody campus on April 27.

The season kicks off Friday against College of Coastal Georgia in Brunswick, followed by three more away dates before a return match against Coastal Georgia at home on Feb. 25.

The long-range focus is on the nationals, which is only natural for a coach who says, “We have one of the best programs in the country right now.”

The heavily churned roster seems of little concern. “If they work will together,” Nait Omar said, “they will go a long way.”

The Jaguars’ home tennis matches are played at GPC’s Dunwoody Campus, 2101 Womack Road, Dunwoody, Ga., 30338. Follow the Jaguars on Facebook and Twitter.

October 14, 2011

Owusu takes third place at USTA/ITA nationals

It was a bittersweet conclusion for the top men’s tandem on the Georgia Perimeter College tennis team.

A brotherly match for third place at the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships in Mobile, Ala., ended abruptly when Ismail Lemtouni retired with an injury against teammate Menford Owusu. The pair got through only two sets, with the No. 1 seed Owusu winning both, when Lemtouni bowed out.

The undisclosed injury also apparently caused Lemtouni and Preston Samowitz to end a doubles match Friday for fifth place after just three games. John Bertram and David Mejia of Fresno (Calif.) City College were declared the winners.

For Owusu and Lemtouni, playing each other on the final day of singles in the consolation match was not the match that each had hoped for.

Owusu, the No. 1 seed in the eight-player bracket, Friday lost narrowly in the semifinals to unseeded Jair Assuncao of Laredo (Texas) Community College 7-6, 7-5.

Lemtouni, a three-set survivor in round one, was tripped up in the semifinals by No. 2 seed Kyle Rowe of Collin (Texas) Community College. Lemounti claimed the first set 6-2 and was competitive the rest of the way, losing the next sets 6-4, 7-5.

In doubles, Lemtouni and Preston Samowitz progressed to the fifth-place match after downing No. 4 seed Marko Knezevic and Mario Huljev of Copiah-Lincoln (Miss.) Community College in three sets.

The tournament wraps up GPC’s fall schedule.

October 13, 2011

Lemtouni and Owusu advance at Mobile nationals

Menford Owusu and Ismail Lemtouni got Georgia Perimeter College off to a solid start on the men’s side of the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships on Thursday with wins in singles.

Owusu disposed of Kevin Aleksandruck from Itawamba (Miss.) Community College 6-4, 6-1, while Lemtouni edged Admire Mushonga of Seminole (Fla.) State College 7-6, 1-6, 6-2.

The two Jaguars are among eight players competing for the singles title in Mobile, Ala. Owusu is the top seed.

Lemtouni’s luck did not carry over to doubles. He and Preston Samowitz bowed to Seminole State’s Mushonga and Oliver Andersen 6-3, 6-2.

The tournament resumes today as GPC winds down its limited fall schedule.

October 6, 2011

Owusu, Smith win in Jagaurs’ scrimmage with Shorter College

Menford Owusu and Patrick Smith provided the Georgia Perimeter College men’s tennis team with its only wins Thursday in a 7-2 defeat to Shorter College on the Dunwoody Campus. It was the Jaguars’ only dual match on the limited fall schedule.

Owusu, at No. 1 singles, bounced back from a first-set deficit to triumph 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Smith was in control at No. 6 singles, winning 6-3, 6-3.

No. 2 Ismail Lemtounti came tantalizingly close before bowing 7-5, 4-6, 7-6. Falling in straight sets were No. 3 Issey Ijuin (6-0, 6-0), No. 4 Eric Verdi (6-0, 6-3 ) and No. 5 Preston Samowitz (7-5, 6-1).

The Jaguars were blanked in doubles. No. 1 pairing Owusu and Ijuin were beaten 8-5; No. 2 Lemtouni-Samowitz 9-7 and No. 3 Verdi-Smith 8-6. Players who qualified for the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships in last month’s regional move on to the final event of the fall schedule next weekend in Mobile, Ala.

September 25, 2011

Jaguars sweep USTA/ITA Small College Regional Tournament

For the second consecutive year, the Georgia Perimeter College men’s and women’s tennis teams swept all four titles—singles and doubles—this weekend at the USTA/ITA Small College Regional Championship in Alexander City, Ala.

From left, coach Reda Nait Omar, Issey Ijuin, Menford Owusu, Ismail Lemtouni, Preston Samowitz, assistant coach Akeem Byron.

Georgia Perimeter dominated the tournament so convincingly that only GPC players made the finals in both men’s and women’s singles and doubles competition.

“It was a full sweep,” said head coach Mohamed Nait Omar. “We won men’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s singles and women’s doubles.”

With the victories, both teams earned berths in the USTA/ITA Small College National Championship Tournament in Mobile, Ala. Oct. 13-16.

In the men’s singles title match, Menford Owusu, a freshman from Ghana, defeated All-American teammate Ismail Lemtouni 6-4, 3-6, 6-1. Menford and freshman teammate Issey Ijuin won the doubles title with an 8-5 victory over Lemtouni and another Jaguar freshman, Preston Samowitz.

A pair of Jaguar sophomores squared off for the women’s championship. Salma Dahbi defeated teammate Sadia Mayou 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.

In the women’s doubles final, Dahbi teamed up with freshman Idia Amen to down Mayou and sophomore Asia Boyd 8-2.

Amen made the singles semifinals, but she fell in a thriller, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6. On the men’s side, Eric Verdi also lost in the semifinals 6-4, 6-3.

The USTA/ITA regional is one of several tournaments and matches for the Jaguars during the limited fall season that serves as a warm-up for the spring schedule. Other colleges attending the tournament were Central Alabama Community College, Oxford College of Emory University, Marion Military Institute and Gadsden State Community College.

The next match for the Jaguars, men and women, is on their home courts Oct. 6 at 2 p.m. versus Shorter College, a four-year institution.

The Jaguars’ home tennis matches are played at GPC’s Dunwoody Campus, 2101 Womack Road, Dunwoody, Ga., 30338. Follow the Jaguars on Facebook and Twitter.

Ghana’s top junior tennis star to play at GPC

Menford Owusu of Ghana, who has been ranked as high as 198th in the world among junior players, has elected to start his collegiate tennis career at Georgia Perimeter College and follow in the footsteps of his friend Salif Kante.

Menford Owusu signs, accompanied by, clockwise from front left, Salif Kante, GPC athletics director Alfred Barney and head coach Mohamed Nait Omar.

Kante, a native of Senegal, was the No. 1 men’s player among two-year colleges in the nation last spring, winning the singles and doubles championships at the National Junior College Athletic Association tournament in Plano, Texas.

Owusu and Kante go way back. They competed against each other at numerous tournaments in Africa since they were 11 years old. Owusu has played in Davis Cup matches for his native country since 2007, and he also has played on the Futures Circuit.

He was recruited by schools in the NCAA and NAIA as well as other JUCOs before deciding to follow his friend to Georgia Perimeter.

Kante, an NJCAA All-American by virtue of his championships, is headed to Florida A&M University on a full scholarship. But his doubles partner, All-American Ismail Lemtouni, will return for his sophomore year.

Kante passes the baton to Owusu to the delight GPC head coach Mohamed Nait Omar, who says Kante departs “knowing that someone will fill his shoes and help keep the Jaguars on top.”

The depth chart looks splendid for Nait Omar. Other recent signings add two outstanding players in lefthander Patrick Smith of Wheeler High School and Preston Samowitz, a member of Pope High’s Class 5A state championship team.

The Jaguars finished the nationals in seventh place as a team, ahead of conference rival Abraham Baldwin Agriculture College. In addition to Lemtouni, freshmen playing for GPC at nationals were Jeremy Dunham, Brian Le and Ramin Zamani.

Men’s and women’s tennis tryouts

Are you a tennis player with college potential?

To try out for the GPC men’s or women’s tennis teams, contact head coach “Reda” Mohamed Nait Omar at mohamed.omar@gpc.edu or assistant coach Akeem Byron, 561-704-5016.

Scholarships are available for players who qualify.

The tennis courts are located on GPC’s Dunwoody Campus, 2101 Womack Road, Dunwoody, GA, 30338, and on the Clarkston Campus, 555 North Indian Creek Drive, Clarkston, GA, 30021.

Jaguars sign pair from Cobb County’s Wheeler, Pope high schools

Preston Samowitz, of Class AAAAA champion Pope, signs with Georgia Perimeter College, seated in front of GPC men’s tennis coach Mohamed Nait Omar. The coach says the Jaguars are "very excited to have him."

Wheeler’s Patrick Smith (seated, right, in front of GPC coach Mohamed Nait Omar), part of the No. 1 doubles team that was third in its region, signs with Georgia Perimeter College. Nait Omar calls Smith "a strong lefty" and "a great addition to the GPC men’s tennis team."

Stay tuned to this website as further details become available.

Kante shares in pair of national titles for seventh-place Jaguars

When Mohamed “Reda“ Nait Omar recruited Salif Kante to play tennis at Georgia Perimeter College, he expected big things from the Senegal native.

But not even the coach could have anticipated Kante delivering a pair of national championships to the Jaguars.

Salif Kante, serving at the national tournament in Plano, Texas

Kante won an abbreviated match Friday to claim the No. 1 singles title at the NJCAA tournament in Plano, Texas.

Then he joined forces with Ismail Lemtouni to win the No. 1 doubles crown. Lemtouni also brought home the runner-up trophy in the No. 2 singles flight.

The triumphant final day of the week-long event left GPC in seventh place with 25.5 points, 1.5 ahead of Region 17 rival Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. Vincennes (Ind.) University took the team title with 43 points.

Kante, the No. 2 seed in the top flight, was leading Jair Assuncao 5-1 in the opening set when the third seed from Laredo (Texas) Community College retired with an injury.

“I think Salif wound have beaten him either way,” Nait Omar said. “He was pretty dominant.”

Assuncao apparently hurt his leg early in the match and could not recover.

Kante “was a good player” when he arrived at GPC, according to his coach, “but he really improved a lot.”

He and Lemtouni rallied after a desultory start to defeat Alex Sanders and Michael Tymkiw of Collin (Texas) College 2-6, 7-6, 6-2.

Nait Omar said his top-seeded tandem was overconfident early on against its unseeded opponent.

“They were a little too relaxed,” said the coach, who chastised them after the first set. “They were sleeping. Then they got into the match.”

Still, the Jaguars had to fight off a match point in the second set to win the tie-breaker 8-6.

A downpour in the middle of the third set forced the players to move indoors. “That helped us,” said Nait Omar, noting that he was able to instruct his players on strategy to close out the match.

In singles, Lemtouni could not repeat the feat of his teammate and fell to Matt Campbell of Tyler (Texas) Junior College 6-0, 7-6 in the second flight finals. The fourth-seeded Lemtounti, a freshman from Morocco who knocked out the flight favorite in the semifinals on Thursday, was unable to follow it up against the No. 2 seed.

“The inexperience got to him,” Nait Omar said. “When he gets impatient, he rushes it a little bit.”

Lemtouni nearly pulled out the second set, losing the tie-breaker 8-6.

“If he would have closed out the second set, he would have had an edge over the other guy mentally,” Nait Omar said.

Kante is bound for Florida A&M and will pass the baton to Lemtouni next season, giving GPC an opportunity to defend the top flight singles title.

“Ismail will be very strong,” said Nait Omar, who expects the seventh-place finish to be a boon in recruiting.

Just maybe there is another Salif Kante out there to team up with Lemtouni.

Kante, Lemtouni each one win from a championship

The twin towers of Georgia Perimeter College men’s tennis are still standing as the NJCAA tournament in Plano, Texas, enters the final rounds on Friday.

Sophomore Salif Kante, the No. 2 seed in the top flight of singles, disposed of unseeded Benjamin Renac from Vincennes (Ind.) University 6-1, 7-5 Thursday.

In the second flight, freshman teammate Ismail Lemtouni pulled an upset. The fourth seed defeated flight favorite Michael Tymkiw of host school Collin (Texas) College 6-4, 6-3.

Only Jair Assuncao of Laredo (Texas) Community College stands between Kante and a championship. The No. 3 seed took out flight favorite Alex Sanders of Collin 6-4, 7-6.

Lemtouni confronts No. 2 seed Matt Campbell of Tyler (Texas) Junior College for the second flight crown. Campbell beat No. 3 Bruno Kliskinic of Laredo 6-4, 6-3.

Kante and Lemtouni also continued to live up to their No. 1 seed in the premier doubles flight. They overcame the Tyler pair of Campbell and Mario Jakovljavic, third seed, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2.

The Jaguars’ duo will face unseeded Tykkiw and Sanders for the championship. The Collin contingent surprised second seed Adem Mumcu and Jose Zaatini of Vincennes 6-2, 6-4.

The GPC successes in the top flights gave the Jaguars 23.5 points, seventh most in the 27-team tournament. Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College is tied for eighth with 23. Tyler leads with 40.

“Where we are going to finish is huge for Georgia Perimeter,” coach Mohamed “Reda” Nait Omar said. With three victories Friday, the Jaguars would wind up with 26.5 points.

Nait Omar noted that Kante had an easy time in his first set but was challenged in the second.

“I’m pretty confident with him” in the finals, the coach said, “but he has a pretty tough match.”

Lemtouni was especially impressive. “He took [Campbell] out pretty handily. I like his chances,” Nait Omar said.

As doubles partners, they have clicked because Kante has wielded a powerful serve and effective game at the net, while Lemtouni has excelled with his forehand near the baseline.

“They are playing very well,” the coach said.

GPC’s Christian Bellina, plagued by a sore hip and feeling the effects of three matches the day before, fell in singles and doubles.

The seventh-seeded Bellina, who was outstanding throughout the Wednesday marathon, bowed to unseeded Jason Wright of Hartford (Md.) Community College 6-3, 6-4 in the third flight consolation finals. A win would have moved him back into contention for a title.

Bellina and Jeremy Dunham were blanked by sixth seed Zach Morroy and Andres Yepez of Meridian (Miss.) Community College 6-0, 6-0 in the second flight doubles.

“Christian is the man of the week,” Nait Omar said, observing that Bellina played through pain and ideally needed more to recover between matches.

Kante, Lemtouni cruise into NJCAA singles semifinals

Salif Kante and Ismail Lemtouni reached the semifinals of the NJCAA men’s tennis tournament Wednesday in straight sets as Georgia Perimeter College moved into ninth place in Plano, Texas.

Each captured his second match without defeat this week. Kante, No. 2 seed in the top singles flight, conquered No. 7 Zach Evenden of Cowley (Kan.) College 6-3, 6-3. Lemtouni, fourth seed among the second flight players, put away Admire Mushonga of Seminole State (Okla.) Community College 6-1, 6-4.

The Jaguar pair had enough energy left for a 6-0, 7-5 victory in the top flight doubles over Maksim Fil and Miklas Sparr of Johnson County (Kan.) Community College. Kante-Lemtouni are the No. 1 seed.

GPC has accumulated 20.5 points through three days. The co-leaders, with 35 points apiece, are Vincennes (Ind.) University and Tyler (Texas) Junior College. “It’s a pretty good achievement,” said coach Mohamed “Reda” Nait Omar. “Huge.”

Omar said Kante “started a little but tight, but got going and finished strong.”

Lemtouni, by contrast, was efficient from the start, his coach said. “Very intense. He was committed to every shot. He wasn’t willing to give up any points.”

Christian Bellina

In the third singles flight, Christian Bellina, relegated to the consolation bracket with a previous loss, stayed alive with two triumphs, capped by a thrilling three-setter.

The No. 7 seed disposed of Wesley Raines from Itawamba (Miss.) Community College 6-2, 6-3 and Tom Reynolds of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (10-8).

Bellina, dealing with a sore hip, was near the end against Reynolds, behind 8-3 in the third-set tie-breaker, before winning the next seven points.

“He came through big-time,” Omar said, citing the injury. “He fought through it.”

Ramin Zamani followed a first-round win on the fifth flight earlier in the week with a 6-0, 6-0 loss to No. 3 seed Vasili Caripi of Tyler.

Jeremy Dunham

Wrapping up a busy day of singles for GPC was Jeremy Dunham’s 6-0, 6-2 defeat to Trey Webb of Mereidian (Miss.) Community College in the consolation quarterfinals of the sixth flight.

All three Jaguars doubles entrants were in action.

Bellina, surviving his third match for the day, and Dunham teamed up in the consolation draw of second flight doubles to take out the Jones County (Miss.) Junior College tandem of Nick Williams and Armand Denaikos 6-3, 6-4.

Zamani, with Brian Le at his side, went down in the third doubles flight, 6-2, 6-4 to Justin Foster and Jay Gillespie of Collin (Texas) College, evening their record for the tournament.

Kante, Lemtouni open at nationals with wins in No. 1 and 2 singles

Georgia Perimeter College’s one-two punch in men’s tennis opened with wins—one easy, one difficult—Tuesday at the NJCAA national championships in Plano, Texas.

Salif Kante

Salif Kante, the second seed in the top flight, handled Ed Spilman of Temple (Texas) Junior College 6-2, 6-1.

“Salif played very well,” GPC coach Mohamed “Reda” Nait Omar said. “He advanced with a lot of confidence.”

Ismail Lemtouni, seeded fourth in the second flight, spotted Kane Olsen a set advantage before rallying to defeat the foe from Johnson County (Kan.) Community College 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.

Nait Omar said a change in strategy saved Lemtouni. In the first set, the Jaguar played shots to Olsen’s forehand. At the coach’s suggestion, Lemtouni switched to forcing Olsen to use his backhand.

Ismail Lemtouni

“Ismail was able to dictate the point from a more overall offensive position,” Nait Omar said.

The duo took the court together as the top seed in the premier doubles flight and downed Laericio Lobo-Nathan Nelmes of Seward County (Kan.) Community College 6-1, 6-1. Separately and as a pair, Kante and Lemtouni moved on to the quarterfinals Wednesday. They had received byes into the round of 16.

Christian Bellina did not fare as well in the third singles flight. The No. 7 seed, bothered by a hip injury, was bounced into the losers’ bracket by Nei Dos Santos of Cowley County (Kan.) Community College 6-3, 7-5.

GPC’s Brian Le, a winner in the first round Monday, stumbled to No. 3 seed Patrick Clynes of Vincennes (Ind.) University 6-0, 6-1 in the fourth flight. Le “was outmatched in that one,” Nait Omar said.

Also, Le and Ramin Zamani, who triumphed Monday in the opening round of the third flight doubles, fell to Duston Foster and Jay Gillespie of Collin (Texas) College 6-1, 6-4. With the three victories in the top flights, “we are doing very good,” Nait Omar said. “We are fighting with the top guns in the tournament.”

Le and Zamani win first matches at nationals

Brian Le and Ramin Zamani got the Georgia Perimeter College men’s tennis team off to a good start Monday with wins in singles and doubles on the first day of the National Junior College Athletic Association Division 1 national tournament in Plano, Texas.

Playing in the No. 4 flight, Le took down McEnroe Apostol from College of DuPage 6-1, 6-2. At No. 5, Zamani downed John Michael Catalano of USC-Lancaster by an identical score.

Zamani, with Le as his partner, also handled Catalano at No. 3 doubles. The Lancaster duo, which included Joey Martin, fell to the Jaguars pair 6-1, 6-0

Martin extracted a measure of revenge in singles, beating GPC’s Jeremy Dunham 6-0, 4-6, 6-1 in the No. 6 flight. And Apostol of Dupage evened things at No. 2 doubles, teaming with Peter Ralph to upend Dunham and Christian Bellina 6-1, 6-4.

The three wins gave GPC six points, good for a three-way tie for 11th place in the tournament. Cowley County Community College leads with 16 points. All of Monday’s participants continue play Tuesday. The Jaguars’ two premier players, Salif Kante and Ismail Lemtouni, received byes and make their debut on the tournament’s second day, Tuesday.

ITA names Nait Omar top coach, Kante top senior player

The Georgia Perimeter College men’s tennis team will enter the National Junior College Athletic Association tournament in Plano, Texas, with an even shinier resume than it had just a few days ago.

Coach Mohamed "Reda" Nait Omar gives Ismail Lemtouni a few pointers during a match.

That’s because Mohamed “Reda” Nait Omar has been named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Region 4 Coach of the Year and his top singles player, Salif Kante, has been voted the region’s Senior Player of the Year.

Coming in just Nait Omar’s third season at Georgia Perimeter, it is another step toward the restoring the Jaguars’ reputation as a two-year college tennis powerhouse. The Jaguars won four straight Division 2 men’s national championships from 1998 through 2001 and a women’s title in 2000.

“My award speaks well of the guys as a team,” said Nait Omar. “It is a great honor. When you’re voted by your peers, it means much more. A big consideration was that we rebuilt the program to the national level.”

Salif Kante

Kante is undefeated and ranked fourth nationally by the ITA among two-year players this season. He is coming off a Most Valuable Player Award he won in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association tournament last month after snaring the region’s No. 1 singles title and sharing its No. 1 doubles championship with partner Ismail Lemtouni.

With help from an aunt and uncle in Metro Atlanta, skilled coaching from Nait Omar and his own rousing success at GPC, Kante overcame his initial homesickness.

“It was a challenge for me at first,” he said. “Now, I am very happy to be here. I made the right decision.”

Though Kante’s efforts couldn’t prevent the Jaguars from losing to eventual GCAA champion and perennial tennis power Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, a change in the tournament format helped them punch their ticket for Texas.

This year, for the first time, the runner-up in the GCAA (NJCAA Region 17) goes to the national tournament as well as the champion.

How the Jaguars are getting to the tournament with a 5-6 record will be of little importance once the first serve goes up. The fact is, they are there, with at least a chance to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their last championship in grand style.

Jaguar Journal: Plan takes GPC down long road back to nationals

The coach had a plan. A native of Morocco, he would use his extensive tennis contacts in North Africa to recruit top-grade players who would complement the home-grown talent. Then he would upgrade the non-region schedule, toughening his team for the critical matches against league foes.

In the third year of his plan, coach Mohamed “Reda” Nait Omar and the Georgia Perimeter College men’s tennis team have seen it bear fruit. The Jaguars are headed to the National Junior College Athletics Association Division I tournament in Plano, Texas, which starts May 16 and runs through May 20.

“This shows the program is back to where it was once before,” Nait Nait Omar said.

The Jaguars once lorded over their division of NJCAA tennis, sweeping four Division 2 consecutive national championships from 1998 to 2001. They were runners-up in 2003 and ’04.

They have returned—this time in Division 1—despite a narrow 5-4 defeat to perennial power Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in the Region 17 championship match. This year the NJCAA tourney welcomes first- and second-place schools from each region.

Nait Omar was hired on as a Mr. Fix-it when the program fell on hard times. The cornerstone of his efforts is Salif Kante, a sophomore from Senegal.

“That’s our top gun,” Nait Omar said. “He has developed his game with great adjustments. He is quite determined to follow through on what the coach says.”

Kante arrived as a baseline player, taking a defensive posture that invited his opponents to commit an error and end the point.

Nait Omar told the 6-foot-5 Kante, “You are tall. You have to go to the net more often.”

Kante had heard such advice before, from a former coach—his dad. This time, the message sunk in.

“It took me two or three months to get used to it,” said Kante. “He hasn’t seen me play this season, but based on what he’s heard, he’s proud of me.”

Kante sailed unbeaten through this season and was named the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (NJCAA Region 17) Most Valuable Player. Ranked fourth on the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association singles poll, he earned a full scholarship from Florida A&M.

Last year, Nait Omar circled back to his native country and signed Ismail Lemtouni, who has excelled and gained a No. 12 singles ranking from the ITA.

At the region tournament, Lemtouni became frustrated after falling behind 3-1. The coach got him back on track.

“I knew he could deliver,” Nait Omar said. “He turned around and won the match.”

Kante and Lemtouni have meshed in doubles, riding a perfect season to a No. 3 national ranking by ITA.

Sophomore Christian Bellina, from Shiloh High School near Snellville, contributed a remarkably successful season at No. 3 singles after missing last season with an ACL injury.

“He’s very competitive,” Nait Omar said. “He always looks into his strategies, always reads what he needs to do from match to match. He helped the team get to nationals.”

Rounding out the lineup in Texas will be Brian Le, a freshman from Norcross High; freshman Ramin Zamani, from Tabriz, Iran; and Jeremy Dunham, a freshman who also hails from Shiloh.

With a 5-5 record and a No. 14 team ranking by ITA, the Jaguars plan to make some noise at the nationals. Depth has improved under Nait Omar, but he acknowledges the need for even more.

“Let’s hope our Nos. 4, 5 and 6 guys will feed off the success at the top of the lineup at the tournament,” he said.

JAGUAR JOLTS: The common heritage among the international players on the roster is evidenced in activities such as team cookouts. The fare includes kabobs, couscous, lamb and Mediterranean salads that remind the Africans of cuisine back home. The soundtrack of the gatherings often is heard in French, the native tongue for some. … Kante serves as captain, delivering pep talks to others while fostering a team attitude that can be elusive in this individual sport. “We work as a family,” Nait Omar said. “Nobody is treated as special.” … The team began the long bus ride to Plano, a suburb of Dallas, Saturday morning. … The tournament, hosted by Collin College, will be held on courts scattered throughout Plano. The teams will gather for a banquet Sunday night at the college. … The Jaguars are attending the tournament on the 10th anniversary of the last GPC national championship, in NJCAA Division 2. The 2001 team was coached by Chris Decker, who had served as assistant to Billy Pate. Pate had coached the previous three national championship teams from 1998 to 2000. He left GPC to take the head coaching job at Notre Dame and later took the helm at Alabama. … The women’s team, coached by Joyce Garrett, won the national championship in 2000, giving GPC a sweep of the men’s and women’s Division 2 titles that year.

GPC headed to nationals despite close 5-4 loss; Kante wins MVP

Georgia Perimeter College’s men’s tennis team is headed to the National Junior College Athletic Association tournament despite a narrow defeat in the NJCAA Region 17 tournament.

The Jaguars lost 5-4 to Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in the championship match of the tournament Friday at the Red Hill Athletic Center in Tifton. But, because of a tournament format change this season, the region runner-up also goes to the national tournament, which will be held in Plano, Texas, from May 15-20.

Salif Kante, undefeated and ranked fourth nationally, was named Most Valuable Player after winning the No. 1 men’s singles and doubles flights.

Salif Kante

The Jaguar team came agonizingly close to winning the region team championship match with ABAC.

Kante defeated ABAC’s premier singles player—Hernan Hatem, who carries a No. 7 national ranking—6-3, 6-3. He teamed with Ismail Lemtouni to take the doubles by an identical score.

The Jaguars also got points in singles from Lemtouni, who eked past Martin Regan 7-5, 6-3, and Christian Bellina, who upended Tom Reynolds 6-4, 6-3.

The Stallions’ depth proved crucial as they handily won the singles matches at Nos. 4 through 6, plus the Nos. 2 and 3 doubles encounters.

GPC’s Brian Le fell to Taylor Hardy 6-3, 6-0. Ramin Zamani went down to Danilo Faria 6-1, 6-0. Jeremy Dunham bowed to Derrick Taylor 6-0, 6-0.

In doubles, Bellina-Dunham stumbled to Reynolds-Taylor 6-2, 6-3, while Zamani-Le were no threat to Hatem and Faria 6-1, 6-0.

“I’m proud of the guys and how they fought,” said GPC coach Mohamed “Reda” Nait Omar.

The Jaguars defeated ABAC in the fall season, then the Stallions evened things up with a 6-3 win earlier this spring.

ABAC’s head coach Alan Kramer was named Coach of the Year for both men and women.

Shorter College defeats Jaguars 7-2

Salif Kante helped Georgia Perimeter College avoid a men’s tennis shutout Saturday, winning at singles and doubles as the Jaguars succumbed to Shorter College 7-2 in wind-swept Rome.

Kante, GPC’s premier player, stopped Guilaume Ledrap 6-3, 6-3 and joined hands with Ismail Lemtouni to halt Badr Cherradi and Thibault Langeard in doubles 8-4.

The Hawks (9-2), with their top five players from France, swept the rest of the matches to remain perfect at home.

Only Ramin Zamani came close to winning a set for GPC. He lost to Longeard 6-4, 6-0.

Lemtouni could not equal his doubles effort, falling to Cherradi 6-0, 6-2. Christian Bellina was taken down by Eric Tucoulou 6-1, 6-1. Nathan Singleton was stifled by Bastien Russo 6-1, 6-1. Jeremy Dunham was pointless against Grayson Jones, 6-0, 6-0.

Bellina-Singleton battled in doubles, but Ledrap-Tucoulou survived 8-4. Zamani-Dunham was downed by Tim Gambrell and Cody Carr 8-2.

The Jaguars (5-5), having closed their regular season with three straight setbacks, try to get back on track at the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association tournament, which begins Friday in Tifton. The conference is also Region 17 of the National Junior College Athletic Association.

Coastal Georgia slips past Jaguars

Behind the efforts of dynamic duo Salif Kante and Ismail Lemtouni, Georgia Perimeter College extended College of Coastal Georgia to the final men’s tennis match Friday before bowing 5-4 on the Dunwoody courts.

GPC’s two premier players won handily in singles -- Kante 6-0, 6-2 over Laurenz Schraepen and Lemtounti over Mulhar Mahi 6-0, 6-1. In doubles, they outlasted Schraepen and James Carr 8-6.

For the Jaguars (5-4), the day’s most satisfying match was Christian Bellina’s three-setter over Carr. Battling from an early deficit, Bellina began finishing his approach shots and won 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.

The outcome boiled down to the No. 6 singles encounter. GPC’s Jeremy Dunham could not put away the Mariners’ Takashi Koga, falling 6-3, 6-3.

The Dunham-Bellina tandem were beaten 8-5 in doubles by Koga and Gustavo Abad, while Brian Le and Ramin Zamini stumbled 8-1 to Mahi and Connor Bond.

Le succombed in singles to Abad 6-1, 6-4, and Zamani suffered the same fate to Bond 6-2, 6-1.

Powerhouse Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College tops Jaguars

Depth was the difference Monday as Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College’s powerhouse men’s tennis team took down Georgia Perimeter College 6-3 Monday on the Dunwoody campus.

The Jaguars (5-3) got their usual impressive showing from the roster’s top pair. Salif Kante coasted over Hernan Hatem 6-0, 6-1 and Ismail Lemtounti defeated Taylor Hardy 6-2, 6-2.

Kante and Lemtouni were even greater than the sum of their parts in doubles, overwhelming Hardy and Martin Regan 8-1.

The rest of the GPC lineup could not generate a single point, failing even to take a set.

Brian Le bowed to Tom Reynolds 6-2, 6-0, Christian Bellina to Derrick Taylor 6-2, 6-4. Nathan Singleton could not handle Danilo Faria 6-0, 6-3, nor could Ramin Zamani deal with Christian Rincon 6-3, 6-2.

In doubles, Bellina-Singleton and Zamani-Le lost 8-4 to Taylor-Reynolds and Faria-Hatem, respectively.

The Golden Stallions from Tifton are the perennial Region XVII champions, having twice won a national title and finishing third in 2008 and ’09 in the NJCAA tournament.

Georgia Perimeter wins fifth straight; blanks USC-Lancaster

Surviving a scare in one doubles match, the Georgia Perimeter College scored a 9-0 men’s tennis shutout of South Carolina-Lancaster Saturday on the Dunwoody Campus.

GPC (5-2) secured its perfect day when Ramin Zamani and Brian Le outlasted Justin Lewis and Joey Nylund in a tie-breaker 9-8, winning seven of 11 points in the extra session. The victory is the fifth consecutive win for the Jaguars.

Salif Kante and Ismail Lemtounti took the other doubles match, 8-2 over Pedro Rodriguez and Henry Remache.

All five singles victories were in straight sets over the Lancers, who played Friday and had a second match scheduled Saturday.

The most dominant was at No. 2, where Lemtouni blanked Remache 6-0, 6-0. Zamani had an easier time than in doubles, handling John Michael Catalano 6-2, 6-1.

Kante, the top singles player, defeated Rodriguez 6-2, 6-3, while Christian Bellina downed Justin Lewis by the same score. Le tripped up Nylund 6-2, 6-2. The final two points were acquired by default.

Next up for the Jaguars is a highly anticipated home match against Abraham Baldwin College at 2 p.m. Monday on the Dunwoody courts. In both men’s and women’s tennis, ABAC has been the champion of the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association for many consecutive years.

The Jaguars’ home tennis matches are played at GPC’s Dunwoody Campus, 2101 Womack Road, Dunwoody, Ga., 30338.

Jaguars post fourth consecutive victory

The Georgia Perimeter College men’s tennis team continued its winning ways after a rough start to the season, blanking Morehouse College 9-0 Wednesday on the Dunwoody Campus.

GPC won its fourth straight following two opening losses and has not lost a match in the last two outings.

The only scare against the Marroon Tigers came in singles, when Nathan Singleton dropped the first set to John Oliver. He kept his composure and rallied to a 1-6, 6-0, 6-3 victory.

As usual, the Jaguars’ two premier players were clicking on all cylinders. Salif Kante took his singles match 6-0, 6-1, while Ismail Lemtouni was almost as dominant, winning 6-1, 6-1. They joined forces for an 8-0 win in doubles.

Christian Bellina, the No. 3 singles player, coasted 6-1, 6-2, then teamed with Singleton for an 8-1 triumph in doubles.

Completing the GPC sweep were Ramin Zamani (6-0, 6-2) and Brian Le (6-4, 6-1). They shared the court in doubles, winning 8-4.

The Jaguars resume play at 9 a.m. Saturday on their home courts against Gadsden (Ala.) State Community College.

The Jaguars’ home tennis matches are played at GPC’s Dunwoody Campus, 2101 Womack Road, Dunwoody, Ga., 30338.

Jaguars net shutout; improve to 3-2

Sunday was a productive day for the Georgia Perimeter College men’s tennis team, as the Jaguars defeated Oxford of Emory 9-0 on the GPC home courts at Dunwoody Campus.

Georgia Perimeter (3-2) did not drop a single game in five of its six singles match and allowed the Eagles to take just three games in three doubles face-offs.

Though Jeremy Dunham played the only tight singles match—winning 6-4, 6-2—coach Mohamed "Reda" Nait Omar lauded him for outstanding play.

Teammates Salif Kante, Ismail Lemtouni, Christian Bellina, Nathan Singleton and Ramin Zamani all swept to 6-0, 6-0 victories.

Nait Omar noted that the dominant performance by the Jaguars is not the usual outcome between these two teams. “In the past, it has been very close with Oxford,” he said.

In doubles, Kante-Lemtouni coasted to an 8-0 win, while Bellina-Dunham triumphed 8-2 and Brian Le-Zamani 8-1.

A pair of weekend victories gives GPC momentum entering its next encounter Wednesday at 3 p.m. against Morehouse College on the Dunwoody Campus.

The Jaguars’ home tennis matches are played at GPC’s Dunwoody Campus, 2101 Womack Road, Dunwoody, Ga., 30338.

Jaguars return to courts with 6-3 victory

The Georgia Perimeter College men’s tennis team wiped off the cobwebs that formed over a three-week break and defeated Itawamba (Miss.) Community College 6-3 Saturday on the Dunwoody campus.

Salif Kante, Ismail Lemtouni and Christian Bellina took care of business in singles and doubles as GPC improved to 2-2.

Kante, the Jaguars’ No. 1 singles player, was pushed by Ethan Wilkinson but hung on 7-5, 7-5.

Lemtouni, at No. 2, had an easier time with Leonardo Prudencio, winning 6-4, 6-2. They joined forces in doubles to drop the Indians’ Wilkinson-Prudencio 8-3.

Bellina, No. 3 in singles, defeated Wesley Raines 6-4, 6-2, then partnered with Nathan Singleton to whip Wesley Raines and Stephen Montgomery 8-1.

The other GPC point was secured by Ramin Zamani in a thrilling three-set win over Luke Wilson. Zamani survived a tiebreaker 10-8 after splitting the first two sets 6-2, 3-6.

The well-rested Jaguars are back on their home courts Sunday afternoon against Oxford College.

The Jaguars’ home tennis matches are played at GPC’s Dunwoody Campus, 2101 Womack Road, Dunwoody, Ga., 30338.

February 12, 2011

Jaguars enter win column with shutout

Brien Le’s extended tie-breaking thriller secured a shutout for the Georgia Perimeter College men’s tennis team, which shut out Spartanburg (S.C.) Methodist College 9-0 for the season’s first victory.

Le took the first set on the Dunwoody courts from Josh Lawton 6-3, then dropped the second 5-7. He trailed in the tiebreaker before regaining his confidence, fighting back to win the extra segment 10-6.

All other singles were decided in straight sets. Salif Kante and Nathan Singleton never lost a game against Matheus Barcela and David Manley, respectively. Ismail Lemtouni disposed of Corey White 6-1, 6-0. Christian Bellina knocked off Troy Lanford 6-4, 6-2, while Ramin Zamani sailed past Stephen Higginbotham 6-3, 6-2.

In doubles, the Jaguars were never pressed: Kante-Lemtouni over Lanford-Lawton 8-1, Bellina-Singleton over Barcela and C.J. Freeman 8-2, and Le-Zamani over White-Higginbotham 8-2.

GPC coach Mohamed “Reda” Nait Omar said the key to doubles success was confidence that was exhibited by first serves being put in play.

The Jaguars, who opened the year with a pair of defeats against four-year schools, will train nearly two weeks in preparation for their next men’s matches, Feb. 25 in Brunswick against College of Coastal Georgia.

Their next home match is Feb. 26 with Gadsden (Ala.) Community College at 9 a.m.

The Jaguars’ home tennis matches are played at GPC’s Dunwoody Campus, 2101 Womack Road, Dunwoody, Ga., 30338.

February 6, 2011

Weekend tennis matches rained out

Saturday’s men’s and women’s tennis matches at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and Sunday’s men’s match with Georgia State University were rained out. Dates for rescheduled matches will be posted at the Schedule-Results pages, which can be found on the left menu bar for each team’s web site.

February 3, 2011

Jaguars fall to top-ranked Emory

An exciting doubles win by Salif Kante and Ismail Lemtouni enabled the Georgia Perimeter College men’s tennis team to avoid a shutout in an 8-1 defeat Thursday to Emory University, the top-ranked team in the NCAA’s Division III.

Kante and Lemtouni outlasted Chris Goodwin and Will Humphreys 8-6 on a chilly evening at the Emory campus.

Kante was competitive in his singles match, falling to Dillon Pottish 6-3, 6-4, despite coping with a sore knee. Lemtounti lost to Goodwin 6-2, 6-1. It was the Jaguars’ second straight loss to a four-year institution to open the new season.

Head coach Mohamed “Reda” Nait Omar upgraded the Jaguars’ schedule this season partly to help them prepare for junior-college opposition.

“We played this for the experience,” Nait Omar said. “Emory is a very strong team.”

GPC returns to its level (National Junior College Athletic Association) Saturday in Tifton with a match against NJCAA Region 17 power Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.

Brian Le gave the Eagles’ Eric Rothschild a battle in a 6-3, 6-1 setback. In the other singles matches, GPC was unable to secure a single game. Doubles partners Christian Bellina and Nathan Singleton took a couple of games from Rothschild and Alex Chun before bowing 8-2.

Abraham Baldwin has dominated Region 17 (also known as the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association) for years. The Stallions won the region tournament last year and made the trip to the NJCAA national tournament. GPC finished third in the region. Sunday, the Jaguars are back home to confront another four-year school, Georgia State University, at 5 p.m.

January 29, 2011

Jaguars open with close match, but not quite enough

The Georgia Perimeter College men’s tennis team’s season opened encouragingly against a four-year college, with two singles wins and two doubles victories.

But although high-ranked sophomore Salif Kante and freshman Ramin Zamani came through for the Jaguars with the singles and doubles wins, the rest of the Georgia Perimeter lineup fell agonizingly short in a 5-4 defeat Saturday to Shorter College on the Dunwoody campus courts.

In doubles, Kante and teammate Ismail Lemtouni downed Shorter’s Badr Cherradi and Bastien Russo 8-3. Zamani and Brian Le outfought Tim Gambrell and Cody Carr 8-5, while Christian Bellina and Nathan Singleton fell 8-2 against Guillaume Ledrap and Grayson Jones.

Kante added to the Jaguars’ lead, recovering from a second-set lapse in No. 1 singles to beat Cherradi 6-3, 6-7, 6-0.

Zamani breezed over Cody Carr 6-1, 6-1, completing his perfect day. “He played very smart,” said GPC coach Mohamed “Reda” Nait Omar after watching the freshman’s first competitive day on this level.

But a pivotal match, according to Nait Omar, was No. 2 Lemtouni’s 7-6, 6-2 loss to Russo.

“We’ll need to win those to have a successful season,” the coach said. “Our guys have got to get over the hump playing these big-name four-year schools. They’re as good as their guys. They just need to have the confidence.”

The Jaguars dropped their other three singles matches, none more excruciatingly than Nathan Singleton’s 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 loss to Gambrell. Bellina stumbled to Ledrap and Le to Jones, both by 6-1, 6-4.

The next test against four-year institutions comes Thursday at Emory University in Atlanta, beginning at 6 p.m.

Next Saturday the team travels to Tifton for a Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association showdown at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. The next home match is Sunday, Feb. 6, at 5 p.m.

The Jaguars’ home tennis matches are played at GPC’s Dunwoody Campus, 2101 Womack Road, Dunwoody, Ga., 30338.

January 27, 2011

Kante heads Jaguars’ deep roster

Tennis player Salif Kante landed at Georgia Perimeter College a year ago with great expectations.

He is on the brink of fulfilling them as the Jaguars, with a legacy of team success, will contend for the national junior college singles title with the sophomore from Senegal.

Kante was runner-up in singles and doubles in the autumn ITA/USTA National Small College Championships, which positions him as the NJCAA’s second-ranked player entering the more significant spring portion of the schedule.

His coach, Mohamed “Reda” Nait Omar, is not the least bit surprised.

“I expected him to become a world-class athlete,” Nait Omar said. Last season, the coach noted, provided Kante with needed match-play experience.

Nait Omar is counting on more than results from Kante. “He is the leader of our team, the captain,” the coach said. “We expect him to raise the level for everybody else to follow.”

The roster goes nine deep as Nait Omar endeavored to improve depth, a shortcoming in past seasons, with a hectic offseason of recruiting that rounded up six freshmen.

“Not as much depth as I’d want,” he said, “but we have built that up.”

The coach scored a two-in-one deal when brothers Nathan and Keith Singleton of Dunwoody High signed.

“Nathan is fast. Covers the court well,” said Nait Omar, who is especially counting on him in doubles. “He’s everywhere.”

Another local product is Brian Le of Norcross High, who is no stranger to Nait Omar. The coach provided tennis lessons to Le at age 14.

Completing the cast of home-grown newcomers is William Flores II, out of Harrison High in Fayetteville.

The cream of the freshman class may be Ismail Lemtouni of Morocco, Nait Omar’s land. Lemounti, a strong singles player, was sought by Division 1 universities, but turned his attention late in the process to GPC.

Ramin Zamani, the remaining member of the incoming group, hails from Iran and walked on for a tryout. Zamani is inexperienced, according to the coach, with considerable upside.

More familiar to the team and its followers are sophomores Christian Bellina and Togi Bengi, both honed on the courts of metro Atlanta. Bellina, out of Shiloh High in Snellville, missed part of last spring’s season and all of autumn’s with an ACL injury.

“As long as he stays healthy, he’ll be fine,” said Nait Omar, who regards Bellina as stronger in doubles than singles.

Bengi’s roots are at Brookwood High in Lawrenceville.

GPC rolls out an ambitious 13-match schedule (with room to grow) Saturday morning on the Dunwoody campus against Shorter College. The visitor is a four-year school, one of four added with the intention of getting the Jaguars ready for regional play.

Nait Omar said the four-year institutions began contacting him after GPC’s success in the fall. They are partly motivated, he pointed out, by an interest in recruiting the Jaguars once their eligibility has expired.

“For them to want to play us, that’s a compliment,” the coach said.

The schedule, top-heavy with nine matches on the Dunwoody courts, also includes home-and-home encounters with Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, the perennial favorite in GPC’s Region 17 involving state schools. The Stallions drop by the Dunwoody courts on April 4.

The Jaguars may not ready to contend for national team honors, as they did regularly a decade or more ago, which included four straight NJCAA crowds from 1998 to 2001. But they are taking aim at ABAC for region supremacy.

“If we can get hot by the end of the regular season, that’s what we want,” Nait Omar said. And they do anticipate their main man, Kante, making a run on that national singles championship trophy.

The Jaguars’ home tennis matches are played at GPC’s Dunwoody Campus, 2101 Womack Road, Dunwoody, Ga., 30338.

October 19, 2010

Jaguars give good accounting in ITA/USTA finals

Georgia Perimeter College gave notice that it will be a force in the full men’s tennis season next spring with runner-up finishes in singles and doubles last weekend at the ITA/USTA National Small College Championships.

Salif Kante claimed second place in singles as well as doubles, along with Jaguars teammate Akeem Byron, at the event in Mobile, Ala., which closed out the abbreviated fall schedule.

“We are at that [high] level, so we have to buckle down because people are now going to take us more seriously,” coach “Reda” Mohamed Nait Omar said.

Kante, the No. 3 seed, opened in the eight-player division by handling Rafael Coutinho of Laredo (Tex.) Community College 6-3, 6-2, then disposed of Mikhail Pecherkin from Hinds (Miss.) Community College 6-2, 6-2.

He was denied the title by top-seeded Mbonisis Ndimande of Seminole State (Fla.) College 6-2, 6-4.

Kante and Byron, seeded fourth, took their doubles finals to three sets, falling to No. 2 seed Mario Jakovljevic and Pete Thomason from Tyler (Tex.) Junior College 6-3, 6-7, 6-3. Earlier, they downed the duos from Fresno City (Calif.) College 7-6, 6-1 and Hinds 6-1, 6-4.

On the women’s side, GPC’s Sadia Mayou and Mary Claire Slade outlasted second-seeded St. Petersburg (Fla.) Junior College 6-2, 4-6, 10-7 in the first round of doubles, then stumbled to Asa (N.Y.) College in another extended thriller 6-3, 4-6, 12-10.

Salma Dahbi of the Lady Jaguars dropped her initial singles match, 6-1, 7-5 to Sun When of Tyler, the favorite and eventual champion.

October 11, 2010

Kante and Bellina lead Jaguars to sweep at tournament

Salif Kante and Christian Bellina paced a men’s sweep of both flights for Georgia Perimeter College at a weekend tournament in Alexander City, Ala. Kante claimed the first flight singles title with a 6-1, 6-1 win over GPC teammate Ismail Lemounti.

Kante’s encore was a doubles championship with Akeem Byron, 8-6 over the West Alabama duo of Felipe Lopez and Tom Piekart.

Bellina captured top honors in the second flight by defeating West Alabama’s Lucas Nunes 6-4. He hooked up with Nathan Singleton in doubles, and they handled Nunes and Lucas Cruz 8-4.

Kante had reached the singles finals on three straight-sets wins, with four sets closing 6-0. He and Bryon took their first two doubles matches by identical 8-1 scores.

Bellina was even more cold-blooded than Kante, losing a mere two games in his three encounters prior to the finals. His doubles scores with Singleton prior to their finals were 8-2 and 8-1.

The event was the Central Alabama Community College Invitation, at the same site where the Jaguars took the singles and doubles titles at the USTA/ITA Small College Southern Regional.

That performance landed GPC in the USTA/ITA Small College National Championship in Mobile this weekend, which concludes the Jaguars’ limited fall schedule.

September 30, 2010

Jaguars are back: tennis teams sweep USTA/ITA regional

Georgia Perimeter College tennis coach “Reda” Mohamed Nait Omar can hardly wait for the spring season. Who can blame him? GPC already is headed to a tournament with “national” in the title.

From left, Coach Reda Nait Omar and singles champion Salif Kante, with runner-up Mikhail Pecherkin and coach Tim Gust of Hinds Community College.

The Jaguars men’s and women’s tennis teams swept all four titles last weekend at the USTA/ITA Small College Regional Championship in Alexander City, Ala. As a result, both teams qualify for the USTA/ITA Small College National Championship Tournament in Mobile, Ala., Oct. 14-17.

The USTA/ITA regional, one of four tournaments GPC is attending during the limited fall season that serves as a warmup for the spring, consisted of nine men’s and 11 women’s teams. Significantly, one participant was Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, the dominant program in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (NJCAA Region 17).

“We made the big noise in junior college tennis,” said Nait Omar, noting that expectations for the team have been raised. “This sends a good message to the teams on our schedule that GPC is back at the level they once were. This is big-time. People are going to pay attention.”

Georgia Perimeter’s men’s tennis team won National Junior College Athletic Association national championships for four consecutive years from 1998 to 2001, and the women’s team also won the title in 2000.

The main contributors for the Jaguars this weekend were a mix of veterans and newcomers.

Sophomore Salif Kante, the returning No. 1 men’s player, took the singles crown 6-2, 6-1 over Mikhail Pecherkin of Hinds Community College (Miss.). Kante and Akeem Byron, a first-year player who attended GPC last year, took the doubles 8-6 from Pecherkin and Nikita Lison.

Freshman Salma Dahbi from Morocco captured the women’s singles honors 6-4, 7-5 over teammate Sadia Mayou of Togo, another first-year player. Mayou teamed with sophomore Mary Slade in doubles, downing Jessica Halterman and Savannah Zachry of Marion Military Institute (Ala.) 8-4.

GPC’s Ismail Lemtouni reached the men’s semifinals before losing, while he and Ali Vaziri Hamedani were ousted in the doubles semis. On the women’s side, Slade, the most valuable player in Region 17 last spring, fell to Dahbi in the semifinals.

The Jaguars next return to Alexander City for the Central Alabama Community College Invitational Oct. 8-10. Then it’s on to the national championship tourney in Mobile to conclude the fall agenda.

The spring schedule begins in February, when Nait Omar and the Jaguars apparently will have one goal in mind—going to another tournament with “national” in the title, the NJCAA National Championship Tournament in Tucson, Ariz.

See the GPC women’s tennis site for more on players mentioned in this article.

Jaguars finish third in tourney

Salif Kante came a long way to play tennis for Georgia Perimeter College. Since joining the Jaguars, his game has come a long way, too.

Salif Kante

The freshman from Senegal took his opening match at the NJCAA Region 17 tournament in Tifton, then pushed his top-seeded opponent to the brink before losing.

Rasid Winklaar of host school Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, ranked third in the National Junior College Athletics Association, outlasted Kante 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 in a thrilling finale.

Winklaar was once rated No. 26 among junior players worldwide.

Kante’s first-round victory against Young Harris College’s Laurenz Schraepen 6-1, 6-3, was the only one for GPC over the weekend, but it gave the Jaguars third place.

Ali Vaziri, David Bennett, Michael Banks and Vance Exley were eliminated in the opening round, all by players from region runner-up YHC. Vaziri lost to Will Dixon 6-1, 3-6, 6-2. Bennett lost to Mitchell Midkiff 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. Banks lost to Jamie Childree 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Exley lost to Felix Reichl 6-0, 6-0.

The Kante/Vaziri lost to ABAC’s Winklaar/Martin Cederqvist 3-6, 5-7, and the Banks/Exley tandem dropped first-round encounters with ABAC’s Derrick Taylor/ Romain Viellard 1-6, 1-6. The Stallions claimed the regional title and moves on to the NJCAA national tournament.

Down one player because of injuries, GPC defaulted its remaining doubles match.

“These results really speak for how well our tennis program is doing and the progress we have made,” Nait Omar said. Referring also to the GPC women’s team, which finished second in the region, he added, “I am extremely proud of both teams.”

Kante, Vaziri and Jaguars get set for Region 17 tourney

Tennis prodigy Salif Kante’s recruitment to Georgia Perimeter College was the product of good fortune and diligent work by Coach Reda Nait Omar.

Salif Kante

The native of Senegal, whose grandmother shares the same nationality with the Moroccan coach, has been a godsend for the Jaguars. He dropped just one of eight singles matches in the regular season and teamed with fellow overseas signee, Ali Vaziri of Iran, for strong doubles play.

“He’s been great this year,” said Nait Omar, adding that he expects much more of Kante next season. “He needs a little more experience in closing out sets earlier.

“And he needs to take the lead in doubles. He tends to shy away.”

The coach expects Kante to overcome his shyness and make waves with Vaziri in doubles at the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 17 tournament this weekend in Tifton. The duo beat their counterparts, ranked fourth nationally in doubles, from Abraham Baldwin College this season.

Vaziri, GPC’s No. 2 singles player, has played well despite being slowed a pulled hamstring that has kept from him pushing off fully on serves.

Ali Vaziri

“He’s had to work a lot harder,” Nait Omar said.

The coach’s long-term goal is to return the program to the national prominence it enjoyed a decade ago. Through the 1990s and early part of this decade, Georgia Perimeter won 14 straight region championships and four consecutive national championships from 1998 to 2001.

This season the Jaguars started with much promise. They defeated Spartanburg Methodist and Emory of Oxford, raising hopes that Year Two of rebuilding the program after it had been mothballed would be accelerated.

Then injuries and lack of seasoning teamed up on GPC, which has not won since.

“We have a young team,” Omar Nait. “We tend to get a little too tight on the big points. But I’m proud of them overall.”

GPC has benefitted from improved depth over last season, provided by five homegrown players.

However, Christian Bellina (Shiloh High) has been sidelined since midseason with an ACL injury. Bellina has been practicing this week, and Omar Nait is holding out hope that he can compete Saturday.

If not, Togi Bengi (Brookwood H.S.) will continue to fill in, behind No. 3 singles player Michael Banks (Blessed Trinity), No. 4 David Bennett (Riverwood International) and No. 5 Vance Exley (Wesleyan). Bengi has coped lately with shoulder problems.

Omar Nait is stressing better communication between doubles partners, which he believes can be converted into points this weekend. Besides Kante-Vaziri, Banks will be paired with Exley and Bennett with either Bellina or Bengi.

“We’re going to do our best to win,” said Omar Nait, who hopes the Jaguars gained some momentum from their narrow 5-3 loss to Gadsden State in the regular season finale.

It will be a challenge. Abraham Baldwin, enjoying home-court advantage, is ranked No. 3 in the NJCAA poll and boasts the third-rated singles player, Rasid Winklaar. The Stallions have placed third in the past two national championship tournaments. But the freshman from Senegal gives GPC a fighting chance. And a brighter future.

Gadsden State slips by Jaguars

Georgia Perimeter College’s dynamic tennis duo nearly helped the men’s team snap a long losing streak Saturday, but the Jaguars were nipped by Gadsden State (Ala.) Community College 5-4 on their Dunwoody Campus.

GPC’s top two players contributed three points. Salif Kante captured his singles match 6-1, 6-2 and Ali Vaziri eked out his 6-1, 7-6.

The pair also won their doubles match 8-3.

The only other GPC point was secured by Vance Exley and Michael Banks, 9-7 in doubles.

Each dropped his singles effort—Exley by 6-2, 6-2 and Banks by 6-3, 6-2. David Bennett fell 7-5, 6-2 and Togi Benji 6-0, 6-0.

The Jaguars stand 2-6 after opening the season with two victories. They showed improvement Saturday, having stumbled in their previous three competitions each by 8-1.

GPC enters the Region 17 tournament in Tifton on April 17. Coach Reda Nait Omar is attempting to schedule another match before then.

The Jaguars’ home tennis matches are played at GPC’s Dunwoody Campus, 2101 Womack Road, Dunwoody, Ga., 30338.

Shorter downs injury-ravaged Jaguars

Going short-handed against Shorter College was no winning proposition Saturday for the Georgia Perimeter College men’s tennis team in Rome.

The Jaguars, reduced to five active players because of injuries, forfeited a singles and a doubles match in falling 8-1 to the 11th-ranked team in the NAIA, a division of four-year schools.

The matches they did play did not turn out well, other than for ace Salif Kante. He triumphed 6-4, 6-1.

On the losing side were Ali Vaziri (6-2, 6-1), Michael Banks (6-0, 6-0), Vance Exley (6-1, 6-2) and Togi Beni (6-0, 6-0).

In doubles, both Jaguars duos were competitive against the Hawks (13-3). Kante and Vaziri were defeated 8-4 and Exley-Banks 8-3.

GPC is home for a Wednesday match against another four-year college, Georgia State. First match is 2:30 p.m. on the Dunwoody campus.

The Jaguars’ home tennis matches are played at GPC’s Dunwoody Campus, 2101 Womack Road, Dunwoody, Ga., 30338.

Stallions ride herd over Georgia Perimeter

Georgia Perimeter College was unable to slay the giant of state junior college men’s tennis, bowing 8-1 Saturday to Abraham Baldwin College.

Home-court advantage did little for the Jaguars (2-4), whose only point came on an 8-4 doubles win by their top duo, Salif Kante and Ali Vaziri.

The day on the Dunwoody campus offered an international flavor. Kante (Senegal) and Vaziri (Iran) were unable to handle ABAC’s Romain Vielliard (France) and Rasaid Winklaar (Curacao). Kante fell 6-4, 7-6 , while Vaziri, limited by a pulled hamstring, succumbed 6-2, 6-2.

Hampered by the absence of Christian Bellina, out for the season with a pulled ACL, the Jaguars could not claim a set against the perennial champion of Region 17.

Losing in singles were Michael Banks (6-1, 6-1), David Bennett (6-0, 6-1), Vance Exley (6-0, 6-0) and Togi Benji (6-0, 6-0).

Exley and Banks dropped their doubles match 8-3, and Bennett-Benji slipped 6-0, 6-0.

GPC is back in action next Saturday at 1 p.m. against Shorter College on the Dunwoody courts.

The Jaguars’ home tennis matches are played at GPC’s Dunwoody Campus, 2101 Womack Road, Dunwoody, Ga., 30338.

Limping GPC falls to Itawanmba

Injuries and a strong visiting tennis team ganged up Thursday on Georgia Perimeter College, which fell 8-1 to Itawamba (Miss.) Community College on the Dunwoody Campus.

With Christian Bellina sidelined by an ailing ACL and Ali Vaziri limping with a pulled hamstring, the Jaguars could muster up just one win—6-1, 6-1 by top singles player Salif Kante.

He and Vaziri pushed their opponents in doubles before bowing out 8-6. The hurting Vaziri also battled nobly in singles, losing 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (10-6).

The remaining Jaguars (2-3) were unable to claim a lone set. Singles losers were Michael Banks 6-3, 6-3, David Bennett 6-0, 6-0 and Vance Exley 6-2, 6-1.

Banks and Exley, hooking up in doubles, were downed 8-6. Bennett joined newcomer Togi Benji for an 8-1 doubles setback.

The Jaguars are back in action quickly with a Saturday home match against Abraham Baldwin College in Dunwoody.

The Jaguars’ home tennis matches are played at GPC’s Dunwoody Campus, 2101 Womack Road, Dunwoody, Ga., 30338.

Kante, Vaziri not enough as Young Harris downs Jaguars

Georgia Perimeter College’s dynamic tennis duo of Salif Kante and Ali Vaziri were typically outstanding Thursday, but their supporting cast did not come through as the Jaguars stumbled to Young Harris College 6-3 on the Clarkston campus.

Kante dominated his singles match 6-0, 6-3, while Vaziri triumphed 6-3, 6-3. They joined forces for an 8-3 doubles win to account for all of GPC’s points.

Teammates Michael Banks, Christian Bellina, David Bennett and Vance Exley were shut out in singles and doubles. Banks came the closest to winning but fell 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 in singles.

The foursome was competitive, according to Coach Reda Omar, but displayed some nerves at critical junctures of their matches.

Young Harris (3-3) is off to a solid start in its inaugural men’s tennis season.

The Jaguars (2-2) are off until March 18, when Itawamba (Ms.) Community College visits the Dunwoody campus for the Thursday match.

February 27, 2010

Oxford gets revenge on Jaguars

Salif Kante was a tennis terror Saturday at Emory of Oxford, but Georgia Perimeter College’s premier player got little support in a 7-2 setback.

For Emory, the outcome atones for a 5-4 loss to the home-standing Jaguars a week earlier.

Swinging with much more confidence, the Eagles pinned the season’s first defeat on GPC (2-1).

Kante was the bright spot. He swept to a 6-0, 6-0 singles victory, and then paired with Ali Vaziri to coast 8-1 in doubles.

David Bennett came oh-so-close in singles and doubles. On the court alone, he fell 2-6, 6-4, 7-6. Partnered with Christian Bellina in doubles, he forced a tiebreaker before succumbing 9-8 (7-5).

The Jaguars’ match with Young Harris College, postponed last month because of inclement weather, will be made up at 4 p.m. Thursday on the Clarkston Campus. GPC’s usual home courts in Dunwoody will be occupied at that time.

Thursday’s men’s and women’s tennis matches will be played at GPC’s Clarkston Campus, 555 North Indian Creek Drive, Clarkston, GA 30021.

February 20, 2010

Bennett pulls out thriller for Jaguars

Experience paid off Saturday for David Bennett, the only returning player from last season’s Georgia Perimeter College men’s tennis team.

With the outcome of the team competition in the balance, Bennett overcame a first-set loss and won a thrilling tiebreaker 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) to assure a 5-4 GPC win over Emory of Oxford on GPC’s Clarkston Campus.

Bennett also teamed with Christian Bellina for a nail-biting 8-6 win in doubles.

Another key victory for the Jaguars was Michael Banks’ rally from a first-set defeat to win 1-6, 6-4, 6-3. Banks and Vance Exley were unable to pull out a doubles triumph, losing 8-6.

GPC’s top player, Salif Kante, was untouchable, winning 6-2, 6-0 in singles and pairing with Ali Hamendi for an 8-6 doubles win.

Hamendi (6-4, 6-1), Bellina (4-6, 6-2, 6-0) and Exley (6-3, 6-1) absorbed defeats in singles, placing the burden on Bennett, who came through in the clutch.

The Jaguars (2-0) get a return match with Emory of Oxford on the road next Saturday. The next home match is March 2 against Young Harris College at 1:30 p.m.

The Jaguars’ home tennis matches are played at GPC’s Dunwoody Campus, 2101 Womack Road, Dunwoody, Ga., 30338.

February 15, 2010

Rebuilding project looking up for GPC

The call came out of the blue. The father of Salif Kante, national tennis champion of Senegal, was looking to send his son to college in the United States. Dad, a tennis pro, was contacting Georgia Perimeter College men’s coach Mohamed “Reda” Nait Omar because of a shared heritage.

Salif Kante

Nait Omar and Salif’s grandmothers are Moroccan. The Kantes had discovered that Nait Omar once was highly ranked in Morocco, and the family felt that the common cultural background between coach and player would make GPC a good fit for Salif.

“That’s why he’s here,“ Nait Omar said.

And that’s why the Jaguars hope to put the finishing touches on a rebuilding program that began in 2008 after the program was mothballed for the two previous years.

Nait Omar expects Kante to rank among the nation’s foremost junior college players. But it will take more than one man to move GPC beyond last season, when it won two of five dual matches and failed to earn a point in the Region 17 tournament.

Nait Omar reached overseas to Iran for Ali Hamedani Vaziri, the projected No. 2 singles player. He and Kante teamed up in doubles when GPC powered past Spartanburg (S.C.) Methodist College 8-1 in the season opener.

Ali Hamedani Vaziri

The remainder of the roster is home-grown. David Bennett (Riverwood International Charter) of Atlanta is all that’s left of last year’s squad.

The other sophomore is Vance Exley (The Wesleyan School) of Roswell, who gave up tennis briefly and moved out west before enrolling at Georgia Perimeter.

Two incoming players arrived from Snellville—Christian Bellina (Shiloh High) and Togi Bengi (Brookwood High). Michael Banks (Blessed Trinity High) hails from Roswell.

“Almost all are brand-new, so they want to work together,” Nait Omar said.

He did not sense the same camaraderie with their predecessors, so a few players were not invited back.

“There was a lack of commitment to the team and school,” he said. “I was not going to take another chance with certain players.”

The state’s tennis king of the hill is perennial region champion Abraham Baldwin College. Nait Omar also expects big things from the first-year program at Young Harris College.

GPC, he added, should be in the mix. “We’re going in with a lot more confidence this season,” he said.

Saturday’s match with Young Harris was postponed because of Friday’s snowstorm. Next up for the Jaguars is a home match with Emory of Oxford Saturday, Feb. 20, at 10 a.m.

The Jaguars’ home tennis matches are played at GPC’s Dunwoody Campus, 2101 Womack Road, Dunwoody, Ga., 30338.

February 12, 2010

Saturday tennis matches postponed

The Saturday tennis matches for men and women have been postponed due to inclement weather.

February 6, 2010

Jaguars win season-opening match

Five fresh faces on the Georgia Perimeter College men’s tennis team flashed smiles on a cold, wet Saturday after the Jaguars overran Spartanburg Methodist College 8-1 on the Dunwoody Campus.

The only returnee, David Bennett, suffered the team’s lone loss, 6-4, 7-6 in singles. Bennett rebounded with Christian Bellina to take his doubles match 8-3.

GPC’s prized recruit, Salif Kante of Senegal, made a smashing debut, winning 6-1, 6-0 in singles, then joining Ali Vaziri for an 8-3 doubles win. Vaziri also breezed in singles 6-1, 6-1.

Vance Exley and Michael Banks were pushed to the brink in doubles before surviving in a tiebreaker 8-8 (7-3).

The twosome had an easier time in singles. Exley won 6-4, 6-1, while Banks coasted 6-0, 6-3.

Bellina was challenged in the second set of his singles gig but escaped 6-1, 7-5.

The Jaguars’ home tennis matches are played at GPC’s Dunwoody Campus, 2101 Womack Road, Dunwoody, Ga., 30338.