Match One | Match Two

Spartanburg, S.C. – The USC Upstate men's tennis team split its doubleheader with Chattanooga and Georgia State on Saturday from the USC Upstate Tennis Complex, defeating Chattanooga 4-0 before falling 4-2 to Georgia State.

In the first match of the day against Chattanooga, Upstate built a 1-0 lead by winning the doubles point with victories from the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. Junior Ramon Simonetti and sophomore Rajanvir Dharni posted an 8-1 win at No. 1 over Nic Wilson and Lucas Plesky before Viktor Selander and Jamie Yates clinched the point with an 8-2 win at No. 2 over Pavels Grigorjevs.

Selander put the Spartans ahead 2-0 following his 6-2, 6-3 victory over Grigorjevs from the No. 2 singles position. Simonetti gave Upstate a 3-0 edge when he defeated Nick Wingord 6-1, 6-4 at No. 1. Dharni sealed the win and the shutout with a 7-6, 6-1 victory over Wilson at No. 5.

Upstate won the doubles point against the Panthers in the second match and once again jumped out to a 1-0 lead. Matt Bennion and Ignacio Garrido posted an 8-4 win at No. 3 over Felipe Jaworski and Jannis Koeke to give Upstate the early advantage. Selander and Yates downed Sebastian Acuna and Andrei Andrukhou 8-7 at No. 2 to secure the point for the Spartans.

Acuna pulled Georgia State even when he bested Garrido 6-2, 6-2 from the No. 4 singles position, but Yates put Upstate back ahead with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Andrukhou at No. 3.

Koeke evened the score 2-2 following his 6-4, 6-2 win over Simonetti at No. 1, and Zack Kennedy gave Georgia State its first lead of the match with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Selander at No. 2.

Jaworski completed the comeback for the Panthers and clinched the win after downing John Giakoumakis 6-3, 7-6 at No. 6.

Upstate returns to the court March 7 when the Spartans travel to New Orleans, La., to face Fresno State from Tulane's Pepsi Center.

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