McCann defeated Borja Malet of Georgia Southern 6-4, 6-2 to begin play in B singles. In the second round, McCann won his match with Southern Mississippi's Strate Krstevski 6-2, 6-1. McCann play tournament host Georgia Tech's Doug Kenny at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.

"Alex McCann has proven the hard work pays off. I am really proud of his efforts. He has worked hard day in and day out for a year and the results are paying off. It's not over yet and he still has a lot of room for improvement. He should be proud of how he is competing and performing," head coach David McNamara said.

Redshirt freshman Richard Cowden defeated Robert Rotaru of Louisville 7-5, 6-3 to begin the Georgia Tech Invitational on Friday. Then in the second round, Cowden fell to Vanderbilt's Vijay Paul 6-4, 6-1

"Richard Cowden is working hard and is still trying to find some confidence. He needs to dig deep in some matches and work through not playing well. Richard is very close to turning the page and he will get there, it is just a matter of time," McNamara said. "He is playing a lot matches and learning how to win again. I am extremely happy with how his knee is holding up and that represents that hard work he has put into being back this early."

Sophomore Joao Pailiello fell to Auburn's Alex Tsyrenov of Auburn 6-3, 7-5 in the first round of the tournament. In the consolation bracket, Pailiello defeated Georgia's Alex Hill 7-6 (2), 6-2. Pailiello will play Oscar Machuca of Southern Miss at 8 a.m. on Saturday.

"Joao Pailiello let one get away from him this morning. I was a little disapointed as he should have won. Joao has been a pleasant surprise this semester and he has turned into the player he should be," McNamara said. "He still has a long way to go and I hope big things are lined up for him. Joao needs to believe in his ability and needs to believe that to win you must make your opponent work hard."

Redshirt freshman Chris Nowak defeated Furman's Jason Basile 7-5, 6-1 to begin play in B singles on Friday. Nowak then faced Diego Maucha of Southern Miss but the score had not been reported late Friday night.

"Chris won his first match after being down 5-1 in the first set. He had a great comeback to win 7-5, 6-1. He did not play well in his second match and needs to understand how he should play," McNamara said. "Chris continues to work hard but needs to start playing a game that will make him better."

Also in B singles, freshman Derrick Davison fell to Terence Nugent of Auburn, who is seeded second in the draw, 6-2, 7-5.

In doubles action, Cowden and Paliello fell to Miguel Mugunruza and Eliot Potvin of Georgia Tech 8-5.

Davison and McCann lost to Georgia Southern's Malet and Emmanuel Nkoueleue 8-3.

In the B draw, Nowak and freshman Kyle Wishing defeated Basile and Duncan of Furman 8-2. The pair will face Kenny and George Gvelesiani of Georgia Tech on Saturday at 1 p.m.

"Kyle Wishing had his welcome to college tennis with a doubles win this morning with Chris. Kyle looked great and I am really excited to get him back on the court. He has been practicing and working hard and now he is able to put that to work," McNamara said.

Results from the Georgia Tech Invitational will be available on www.goblueraiders.com.

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