From left, Celestin Nkoueleu, Sam Slade, Drew Anderson and Fatyha Berjane ran the table at the Southeast Regional, earning berths in the Small College finals. (Photos by Bill Roa)

by Wade Marbaugh

Georgia Perimeter College men’s and women’s tennis players swept all four flights at the USTA/ITA Junior College Southeast Regional Championship Tournament at Oxford College of Emory in September. The Jaguars won championship matches in women’s singles, women’s doubles, men’s singles and men’s doubles.

The winners advanced to the USTA/ITA Small College National Championships in Sumter, S.C. Oct. 9-12.

Sponsored by the United States Tennis Association and Intercollegiate Tennis Association, the Small College National Championships features some of the nation’s top college players from NCAA Divisions II and III, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and two-year colleges.

The tournament at Emory Oxford was one of 84 regional championships that feed into the national tournament. The Jaguars competed against squads from three two-year colleges—Oxford College, Spartanburg Methodist College and GPC’s perennial rival, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.

Jaguar sophomore Celestin Nkoueleue defeated ABAC’s Josh Page 2-6, 6-4, 10-2 to win the men’s singles event. After each won a set, they played a 10-point tie-breaker, which Nkoueleue dominated.

Nkoueleue and teammate Sam Slade, also a sophomore, won the doubles title with an 8-7 (3) victory over ABAC’s Page and Corey Smith.

“Celestin had a tough singles final, but he played well and got the job done,” said GPC head coach Mohamed Nait Omar. “Same with Celestin and Sam in doubles. They worked well together.

In the women’s single final, Fatyha Berjane cruised past Kelley Burge of ABAC 6-2, 6-0. The pair faced each other again in the doubles title match, with Berjane and sophomore Drew Anderson downing Burge and Alex Silver 8-2.

“Fatyha was very disciplined and did her job easily,” Nait Omar said. “Drew and Fatyha worked great together and also had a great tournament.”

He added, “We’re looking forward to the nationals and some good matches.”

A regular at the fall small college nationals, Nait Omar has enjoyed much success as head coach of the Jaguar tennis program. His teams, men and women, have finished near the top at National Junior College Athletic Association tournaments.

Nait Omar was named the NJCAA Wilson/ITA Regional Coach of the Year for men’s tennis in 2011 and women’s tennis in 2012, and was selected the 2013 NJCAA  Region 17 Coach of the Year for both men’s and women’s competition.

View the USTA/ITA Small College Tournament results.

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