Match One Box | Match Two Box

Fort Worth, Texas – The USC Upstate men's tennis team split its two matches Saturday afternoon at the TCU Spring Invitational from the Friedman Tennis Courts, posting a 4-3 victory over Lamar before falling 5-1 to San Francisco.

In the opening match of the day, Upstate fell in an early hole when Lamar won the first of three doubles matches to grab momentum. The Spartans, however, responded by winning the final two matches to win the point and take a 1-0 lead. Matthias Kidler and Gonzalo Blanco were victorious first, posting an 8-3 win over Jeandre Hoogenboezem and Mikko Rajamaki at the No. 2 position. Rajanvir Dharni and Pedro Carvalho completed the comeback with an 8-6 win over Trey Crysel and Nikita Lis at No. 3.

Lamar tied the score 1-1 following Michael Feucht's 6-0, 6-2 singles win over Ramon Simonetti and the No. 1 position. Juuso Laitinen put the Cardinals ahead 2-1 when he defeated Yvon Haessig 7-6, 6-0 at No. 3, while Lis gave Lamar a 3-1 edge with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Blanco at No. 3.

Jamie Yates cut the Lamar lead to 3-2 when he bested Carl-Phillip Lindqvist 6-4, 6-0 from the No. 4 position. Carlos Tajes kept the Spartans alive and knotted the score 3-3 with a 6-3, 7-6 victory over Hoogenboezem at No. 6. Dharni clinched the match for Upstate when he turned in a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 win over Rajamaki at No. 5.

In the second match, Upstate and San Francisco played only singles matches due to poor lighting on the playing courts. The Dons went ahead 1-0 after a 6-3, 6-3 victory from Germain Bahri over Dharni at the No. 4 position. After Simonetti picked up a win at No. 1 by default, the Dons won the next three matches to seal the victory.  

Upstate returns to action Saturday at 10 a.m. when the Spartans welcome Nicholls State to the Upstate Tennis Complex.

Follow Upstate men's tennis all season long on your mobile device, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.