Feb. 6, 2010

Final Stats

CLEMSON, S.C. - The No. 74 USC Upstate men's tennis team fell at No. 64 Clemson, 5-2, on Saturday morning at the Hoke Sloan Tennis Complex. Once again, the Spartans gave one of the elite teams in the country a run for their money, but in the end, two three-set losses helped swing the match in the Tigers' favor.

Upstate fell to 0-3 on the year, all to teams ranked ahead of it in the ITA rankings, and Clemson improved to 3-0.

The Tigers took a split-decision doubles point, winning the No. 1 and No. 3 matches while seniors Renzo Airaldi and Javier Tori posted an 8-4 win over Gera Boryachinskiy and Carlos Alveraz at No. 2 doubles, but Wes Moran and Kavin Galloway clinched the point at No. 3 with an 8-6 win over sophomores Edgar Rodriguez and Ramiro Blanco.

The Tigers posted a singles win at No. 2 singles, but the Spartans fought back to tie the match at two when seniors Javier Tori and Jack Roux produced wins. Tori beat Broyachinskiy, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 4 singles and Roux posted a 6-0, 6-3 win over Pirtrucka at No. 6. However, a win at No. 1 singles for the Tigers set up the clinching match, as Alvarez posted a three-set win over Rodriguez at No. 3 and Galloway beat Blanco in a third-set tiebreaker.

Upstate's second match of the day, at Anderson University, was postponed due to the wet weather in the Upstate.

The Spartans get back on the court on Sunday, Feb. 14 when they head to Georgia Southern for a 10 a.m. match in Statesboro, Ga.