KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – In the opening round of the ITA Kick-off regional hosted by the University of Tennessee, the second seeded USC Upstate men's tennis team fell to the three seeded Clemson Tigers on Friday evening.

The Spartans fall to 0-2 on the season with the loss, while Clemson improves to 6-1 in 2011.

Matias Di Pasquale was the lone Spartan to pick up a point as he won his singles match, playing at singles number 4.  After falling in set one 2-6, Di Pasquale rallied to win the final two sets 6-4, 7-5 to claim the victory for the only victory of the day against Clemson.

The ITA Kick-off Weekend consists of 60 schools at 15 sites competing to earn spots in the elite 16-team field at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Seattle, Wash. on February 18-21.

Earlier in the day Tennessee defeated San Diego to advance to the regional finals.  Upstate and San Diego will battle in the consolation match at 11:00 a.m., while Tennessee and Clemson will battle in the finals tomorrow at 3:00 p.m.

Tennis Match Results
USC Upstate vs Clemson
Jan 28, 2011 at Knoxville, Tenn.
(Goodfriend Indoor Tennis Center)

Clemson 6, USC Upstate 1

Singles competition
1. Yannick Maden (CLEM) def. Gonzalo Blanco (UPSTM) 6-1, 6-4
2. Derek DiFazio (CLEM) def. Edgar Rodriguez (UPSTM) 6-4, 7-6
3. Kevin Galloway (CLEM) def. Ramiro Blanco (UPSTM) 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
4. Matias Di Pasquale (UPSTM) def. Cal Hilsman (CLEM) 2-6, 6-4, 7-5
5. Dominique Maden (CLEM) def. Gianluca Paino (UPSTM) 6-0, 6-1
6. Robert Pietrucha (CLEM) def. Marco Linconir (UPSTM) 6-3, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. Derek DiFazio/Kevin Galloway (CLEM) def. Gonzalo Blanco/Matias Di Pasquale (UPSTM) 8-3
2. Ramiro Blanco/Edgar Rodriguez (UPSTM) def. Juan Bolona/Dominique Maden (CLEM) 7-3
3. Yannick Maden/Zachary Rigsby (CLEM) def. Marco Linconir/Andres Sanchez (UPSTM) 8-1

Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (5,1,6,2,3,4)