GGC Athletics
Dale Long, Sports Information Director
LAWRENCEVILLE – Junior Federico Bonacia posted three of the four victories by Georgia Gwinnett College men’s tennis players Saturday on the second day of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s South Regional at the GGC Tennis Facility.
Bonacia earned a pair of straight-set singles wins to advance to championship match on Sunday, Sept. 20. He won 12 of 14 matches against Jesus Fernandez of Tennessee Wesleyan University in the morning quarterfinal round. Then, the junior registered a hard-fought 7-5, 6-3 triumph against classmate and doubles teammate Valentino Caratini to reach the regional championship match for the second consecutive fall.
Bonacia, the tournament’s original No. 3 seed, will face Martin Mendoza of Reinhardt University (Georgia) in Sunday’s finale, scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m.
Caratini earned an impressive 6-0, 6-1 quarterfinal win over Tennessee Wesleyan’s Gabriel Ortiz, the No. 2 seed and 2019 junior college national singles champion. The GGC player picked up three singles wins during the tournament.
“Valentino turned in the most impressive performance of the day. To beat a player of that quality (Ortiz) was a huge statement and it puts Valentino in a great position to get an at-large bid for the ITA Oracle Cup,” said GGC Head Coach Chase Hodges.
In doubles, Bonacia and Caratini cruised into the semifinal round with an 8-0 victory over a team from Point University (Georgia). The top-seeded Grizzly team will face an opponent from Reinhardt in the semifinals on Sunday, starting at 9 a.m. The championship match is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
Senior Sergio Valinotti dropped a hard-fought three-set match to Mendoza in quarterfinal action. He won the first set by a 6-4 score before dropped a third-set tiebreaker 10-8 to end his tournament run.
“Federico had a great day,” Hodges said. “He stepped up his game at the right time against Valentino in a very high-quality match. Now, he is competing for a regional singles title. I am looking forward to seeing what he and Valentino can do in doubles after today’s dominant performance.”
Georgia Gwinnett College players will conclude action in the ITA South Regional on Sunday, Sept. 20, scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. from the GGC Tennis Facility.