Box Score YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. – The No. 22 University of North Georgia men's tennis team easily defeated Young Harris 6-1 in a road contest Thursday afternoon.

After starting the season 6-0, the Nighthawks jumped from being unranked to No. 22 nationally in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings on Wednesday. 

The team's ranking is highlighted individually by senior Joaquin Benoit who stands as the No. 22 singles player in the nation per ITA. On Thursday Benoit, joined by junior teammate and most recent PBC Men's Tennis Player of the Week Robin Eldin, cruised to a 6-4 win the #1 doubles match against the Mountain Lions.

Senior Giulio Sassi and freshman Marcos Castellanos sealed the doubles point for head coach Kent Norsworthy's squad with a 6-3 just minutes later.

For good measure, sophomore Eliseo Alcalde and senior Christopher Cahour defeated their opponents 6-4 for a UNG sweep in the doubles. 

In the singles portion, No. 22 Benoit took the first match over Young Harris senior Jamie Bixby in just one-hour and 14-minutes, winning 6-3, 6-1. Benoit has not lost one singles match this year. In fact, he's 12-1 in the 13 individual sets played during singles matches this spring. 

Benoit's win was followed by the lone defeat of the day for the Nighthawks as Mountain Lion senior Rodrigo Mendoza outlasted Sassi 6-2, 5-7, 1-0 (10-8 tiebreaker) in the #2 singles.

UNG dominated the rest of the afternoon, only losing one set in the final four matches en route to its seventh consecutive victory. 

Now the Nighthawks trek back to Dahlonega for one final home match before spending four days at the Scenic City College Tennis Spring Break Showcase.

Before the showcase, UNG will take on Emory for a 12 p.m. match on Saturday, Mar. 2 at the UNG Tennis Complex at Yahoola Creek.