Still Title Hunting
4/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 8, 2008
Complete Weekly Release in PDF Format 
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - After playing for 19 years in the toughest Division II tennis conference in America, the USC Upstate women's tennis team enters this weekend with a chance to do something it never could do in the Peach Belt Conference: win a regular-season championship. Thanks to a 5-0 win over Gardner-Webb on Friday, the Spartans, at 15-3 overall and 9-0 in the Atlantic Sun Conference, can clinch a share of the regular-season title with wins against either ETSU or Campbell this week and can claim the outright title with wins against both schools. The Lady Bucs are 12-8 overall and third in the A-Sun with an 8-2 mark and the Camels are 14-5 overall and 5-4 in the A-Sun.
Johnson City Showdown
The USC Upstate men's tennis team, meanwhile, can also claim a share of the Atlantic Sun Conference regular-season title, but it will need to pass one of its toughest tests of the season in 46th-ranked ETSU to do so. The Spartans, with a record of 14-5 overall and 7-1 in the Atlantic Sun need to pull off the upset of the Bucs and also claim a win over Campbell on Thursday to tie ETSU for at least a share of the A-Sun title.
Five Say Goodbye To Upstate Tennis
USC Upstate will wave goodbye to five of its most distinguished tennis players in school history after Thursday's matches against Campbell at the USC Upstate Tennis Complex. On the women's side, Diana Martinez, Susana Hernandez and Maria Herrera will complete their eligibility while on the men's side, Sebastian Gonzales-Orbegoso and Sandy Franz will finish their careers. All five have their spot secured in the Upstate record book. Martinez is the school's all-time win leader in ever category, having posted 71 singles wins and 63 doubles wins. Her 134 combined wins is 12 ahead of her nearest competition in Hernandez. Hernandez, who was ranked 31st in Division II at the end of last season, has won 62 doubles matches, which is second in school history, and 61 singles matches, which is third. Her 123 combined wins is second. Herrera, who played three seasons with Upstate, is eighth in career singles wins with 43 and third in doubles wins (50) to make her sixth in combined wins with 93. Gonzales-Orbegoso is second in singles wins (55), third in doubles wins (54) and second in combined wins (109) and Franz is tied for ninth in singles wins (43) and sixth in doubles wins (44) to combine for 87 wins, which is sixth in school history.
Record Hunting
Sophomore Renzo Airaldi and senior Sebastian Gonzales-Orbegoso are entering the week with a chance to tie school records for singles wins. Airaldi won his 26th match of the season on Saturday against Jacksonville, moving just one win shy of the 16-year old school record of 27 wins set by James Homan in 1992. Gonzales-Orbegoso enters the week two shy of the career singles record of 57 set by Jorge Ventura from 1993-96 after his match against Gardner-Webb was cut short due to rain.
Super-Novo
Junior Anna Novo has had a season to remember already. The Venezuelan junior set the school's single-season records for combined wins with 48 this season (27 singles and 21 doubles) and is also the record holder for singles wins in a season (27). Along the way, Novo won tournament titles at the USC Upstate Fall Tournament in singles and doubles and at the Wolfpack Invitational in singles and doubles. She was named the Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Week honors on March 14 and has developed into a candidate for A-Sun Player of the Year as she currently has a perfect 9-0 record at No. 1 singles in conference play.
Perfection Close By
Besides junior Anna Novo, who is two matches away from a perfect A-Sun slate at the No. 1 singles slot, the Spartans have three other players who enter the final weekend with unblemished conference ledgers. Junior Daniela Lovera, playing at the No. 3 and No. 4 slots, has a 7-0 mark on the women's side while her brother, sophomore Arnaldo Lovera is 5-0 playing at the No. 6 slot for the men. Sophomore Javier Tori is 8-0 in league play and has proven versatile, playing all slots from No. 2 to No. 5 this season.
Sophomore Extravaganza
The USC Upstate men's team lineup is not just one of the most successful in school history, it is also still incredibly young. Four players currently in the starting six in singles are still just sophomores, yet each of them is already in the top 20 in school history in singles wins. Sophomore Jack Roux, who is currently playing at the No. 3 slot, leads the way with 34 wins, which is tied for 16th in the school record book. Javier Tori is 18th with 33 career singles wins and Renzo Airaldi, who is currently at the No. 2 slot, is tied for 18th with 32 career singles wins, fellow sophomore Arnaldo Lovera.
