Spartans Upended By No. 48 UC Irvine, 5-2

March 14, 2010

IRVINE, Calif. - The USC Upstate men's tennis team wrapped up its trip to California with a disappointing 5-2 loss to No. 48 UC Irvine on Sunday morning at the Anteater Tennis Stadium, winning all three doubles matches before falling in three three-set singles matches to lift Irvine to the win.

The Spartans (10-5 overall) got out to a hot start, although all three doubles matches were tight, Upstate came out on top in each. Seniors Renzo Airaldi and Javier Tori posted a 9-7 win over Sam Gould and Khunpol Isaara at No. 1 before the team took two 9-8 decisions to sweep the point. Senior Jack Roux and sophomore Edgar Rodriguez posted the win at No. 2 over Zac Tsai and Steven Henderson and sophomores Edgar Rodriguez and Ramiro Blanco posted the win at No. 3 over Fabian Matthews and Nick Northcott.

In singles, play, though, the Anteaters (10-4 overall) fought back, winning the match at No. 1 before Tori pulled out a three-set win over Shimpei Suzuki at No. 3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0, giving the Spartans a 2-1 lead. A loss at No. 6 tied the match, bringing the match down to three matches that headed into the third set. However, Upstate couldn't get another point, with Steven Henderson winning the third set, 7-6, at No. 5 before Sam Gould swept his third set at No. 2 to clinch the match.

The Spartans get back into action on Tuesday, when Yale, who also was in the ITA rankings until Feb. 12, visits the USC Upstate Tennis Complex for a 2 p.m. match.


Tennis Match Results
No. 48 UC Irvine 5, USC Upstate 2
No. 1 - Fabian Matthews (UCI) def. Renzo Airaldi (USCU), 6-2, 7-5
No. 2 - Sam Gould (UCI) def. Edgar Rodriguez (USCU), 2-6, 6-2, 6-0
No. 3 - Javier Tori (USCU) def. Shimpei Suzuki (UCI), 6-3, 4-6, 6-0
No. 4 - Zac Tsai (UCI) def. Jack Roux (USCU), 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
No. 5 - Steven Henderson (UCI) def. Ramiro Blanco (USCU), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6
No. 6 - Stephen Stege (UCI) def. Marco Linconir (USCU), 6-4, 6-2
 Singles Order of Finish: 1, 3, 6, 5, 2, 4
No. 1 - Airaldi/Tori (USCU) def. Gould/Issara (UCI), 9-7
No. 2 - Roux/Linconir (USCU) def. Tsai/Henderson (UCI), 9-8
No. 3 - Rodriguez/Blanco (USCU) def. Matthews/Northcott (UCI), 9-8
 Doubles Order of Finish: N/A

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