MOULTRIE —
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College tennis has been among the nation’s best year-in and year-out.
But this is one year that has Alan Kramer, the Stallions’ and Fillies’ head coach, really does not know what to expect from his 2013 teams.
The preseason rankings have the Stallions at No. 9 in the nation, while the Fillies come in at No. 12, The rankings are impressive on a national level, but it does show the pollsters have lower expectations for the ABAC squads than normal, as the Stallions and Fillies are usually ranked higher.
The Stallions will begin their season today as ABAC hosts the University of South Carolina-Aiken at 10 a.m. at the Red Hill Tennis Center. As ABAC takes the court, they will be playing with only two international players, a change from previous years as NJCAA rules have limited the number of players born outside of the United States on a school’s roster.
“That is the biggest change from previous years. We will only have two international players,” said Kramer
Luckily one of those players will be returnee Oliver Snaider, who will be line at No. 1 singles today. Snaider is ranked third nationally in the individuals poll.
Going at No. 2 singles will be Dragomir Culjat from Croatia, who came to ABAC in January. He came to ABAC after the preseason polls were released, but Kramer is very high on his play.
Another returnee, Ricky Symanski, will line up at No. 3 singles today. He is ranked 32nd in the preseason national poll.
Freshman Parker Woodall, ranked 17th nationally after a strong fall season, will line up at No. 4 singles.
Filling out the No. 5 and No. 6 spots today will be freshmen Michael Bailey and Jordan Chastain.
“Bo Blalock from Colquitt County is probably our No. 7 guy right now, and we expect he will play a lot this season. Jarrett Schalch from Irwin County and Ryan Rawls from Bleckley County also have had strong preseasons, and we are expecting a lot from them,” said Kramer.
In the early part of the season, Kramer is hoping, “different kids will have to grow up. Our early season schedule will be a good learning experience for them.”
Snaider and Symanski will go at No. 1 doubles today. That duo is ranked third nationally in doubles play during the preseason.
Culjat and Woodall will be going at No. 2 doubles today, while Bailey and Chastain will play at No. 3.
While the men will begin their season today, the Fillies will not begin play until Feb. 15 when ABAC faces archrival Georgia Perimeter in Brunswick.
“It will be an interesting season for the women,” said Kramer. “We have a lot of good players.”
The only sure thing is that freshman Camelia Abdallah will be at No. 1 singles.
Between players having been sick and/or injured, the rest of the lineup is not set yet.
“We have a lot of good players and it will be fun watching them go for their spots,” said Kramer of both the men and women.
The rest of the roster for the Fillies features sophomores Olivia Robbins from Crisp County, Nikki Hall from Irwin County and Maggie Dowling.
Robbins and Hall played last year at ABAC, while Dowling was the No. 1 singles player at Central Alabama. She transferred to ABAC after Central Alabama dropped womens tennis.
The freshmen Fillies are Ayla Bradley, Lorraine Chon-Qui, Melissa Eligio and Haley Humphrey.
Local Sports
Blalock expected to contribute to ABAC tennis team
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State champion flag football team
Colquitt County won the gold medal in the Senior/Master Traditional Flag Football competition at the recent 2013 Special Olympics Georgia State Summer Games last weekend. Colquitt County defeated Gwinnett County 26-0 in the opening round and defeated Gwinnett again in the championship game 24-0. The team includes, front, from left, Quan Ballard, Joseph Bentley, Wayne Cooley, Jonathon Barnett and James Moxley; back, assistant coach Nick Edge, Shane Jacobs, James Palmore, Jack Hipps, Local Coordinator Grant Hammack, Donta Merritt, Kelvin Holmes and head coach Dennis Eubanks.
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8 Packers named All-Region in baseball
For the third season in a row, Colquitt County High has had one of its baseball players named a region Player of the Year.
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Giddens named to Rimington Trophy watch list
Arkansas State sophomore center Bryce Giddens is one of 44 players across the country who have been named to the 2013 Rimington Trophy’s spring watch list, announced Tuesday by the Rimington Trophy committee.
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Dawson resigns as Colquitt County athletic director
Darius Dawson, who has served as Colquitt County’s athletic director since 2006, has resigned to take a job as assistant principal at Charlie A. Gray Middle School.
And Dawson, who has held several coaching positions at his alma mater since -
South Georgia Youth Shooting Club excels
The South Georgia Youth Shooting Club overcame chilly and wet conditions to take two first-place and two third-place finishes at the Georgia State Trap Shooting championships held May 4 at the South River Gun Club in Covington.
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Packers finish tied for fourth in state golf tournament
When Colquitt County won the Blue Devil Invitational at Spring Hill Country Club in Tifton on April 8, the Packers did so with a round of 294, their best score of the season.
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Tournaments open
Levi Stanfill helped lead Liberty Tax into the Farm League baseball tournament that opened on Monday at the Magnolia Sports Complex. Tournament play in both the Farm League and Midget League will continue tonight with the championship games set for 6 p.m. Thursday. In Monday’s Midget League games, Davis Insurance defeated Mobley Plant 9-3; Quality Employment downed Hutchinson Traylor 13-5 and Southwest Georgia Insurance eliminated Ameris 20-4. In Farm League games on Monday, Farm Bureau defeated Lazarus, 17-6; Ameris won over Southwest Georgia Bank 13-2; Liberty Tax defeated Rocky’s 8-2; and Davis Insurance won over Paradise Pool and Patio 17-2. Stanfill is shown slamming a double in a recent Liberty Tax victory over Lazarus.
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Lady Packers third at state golf tournament at Sunset
Colquitt County coach Matt Key said he thinks his Lady Packers might have place little too much pressure on themselves at Monday’s Class AAAAAA golf tournament at Sunset Country Club.
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Packers head to Tifton to chase state golf championship
When the Colquitt County High golf team tees off in Monday’s state tournament, the Packers will be playing a course that it sometimes plays better than its own.
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Davis Insurance, Hutson Motors win boys baseball championships
Davis Insurance edged Liberty Tax 13-12 on Thursday at the Magnolia Sports Complex and claimed the Farm League baseball championship.
Hutson Motors won the Tiny Mites championship after defeating Holman Supply 15-0 to finish its season undefeated.
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