Upstate Opens A-Sun Tournament Thursday Against Stetson
4/16/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Match 22: No. 5 USC Upstate (9-12) vs. No. 4 Stetson (10-9)
Thursday | 4.17.2014 | 9:00 a.m. EST
Jacksonville, Fla. | UNF Tennis Complex
Spartanburg, S.C. – Having won five of its last seven matches, the fifth-seeded USC Upstate men's tennis team begins its pursuit of an NCAA Tournament bid Thursday morning at 9 a.m. when the Spartans face No. 4 seed Stetson in the first round of the Atlantic Sun Tournament from the UNF Tennis Complex.
Upstate (9-12, 4-4) finished the regular season strong by posting impressive wins over both Mercer and Kennesaw State last weekend from the USC Upstate Tennis Complex. In the first match against Mercer, the Bears jumped out to a 1-0 lead after winning the doubles point, but Upstate answered by winning all six singles matches en route to a 6-1 win and the seventh straight over Mercer.
The Spartans capped the weekend with a 7-0 victory over Kennesaw State to mark the team's second shutout of the season. The win also helped Upstate clinch a berth in the A-Sun Tournament for the third consecutive season.
"We are looking forward to Thursday's rematch with the Hatters after losing a close match to them earlier this year at home," USC Upstate head coach Oliver Trittenwein said. "We expect a very close match with Stetson, but we have a lot of momentum going for us after last weekend and I feel very confident with where we are as a team."
Sophomore Jamie Yates won a pair of singles matches over the weekend and enters the tournament with a team-leading 13-4 overall record, which is tied for fifth in the A-Sun. Senior Yvon Haessig ranks second on the team with nine singles victories and has won three in a row and seven of his last 10 overall.
The Upstate duo of Gonzalo Blanco and Matthias Kidler are a team-best 9-4 in doubles action.
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