Davidson, N.C. – The USC Upstate men's tennis team played in its second fall tournament of the season this weekend at the Davidson Invitational and turned in another strong performance during the three-day tournament held at the Davidson Tennis Courts.
Upstate competed in three doubles matches on Friday, two singles contests on Saturday, and one each on Sunday.
The Davidson Invitational was a points system, with points being determined based on position. The No. 1 singles position was worth 16 points and going two points down at each position to No. 8, which was worth two points. The top doubles spot was worth eight points, then going down to No. 4, which was worth two.
"This weekend the guys, as a whole, played very efficiently and we were able to finish off sets and close out matches when we were in a position to do so," said assistant coach Tim McLane. "To only drop four singles matches all weekend against the competition we were playing was a great effort up and down the lineup. I was also very happy with the way we interacted with and supported each other throughout the weekend. The kind of effort we put in during the tournament will pay off big time when we get into tight matches during the spring."
The Spartans opened play on Friday with doubles matches against Gardner-Webb, Davidson and Campbell. The combination of Francisco Neto and Luka Eble won all three of their matches to finish the day 3-0. Ankush Arora and Fernando Bernardes began the day with a 6-1 win against Gardner-Webb while Ignacio Garrido and Felix Ewers were victorious 6-4 versus Davidson.
The Spartans went unbeaten in singles action on Saturday following a 46-20 win against Davidson and a 50-16 triumph over UNC Asheville. Upstate won four matches versus Davidson from Bernardes, Ewers, Arora and Eble. A total of five matches were won by the Spartans against UNC Asheville from Arora, Neto, Bernardes, Garrido and Eble.
Upstate closed out tournament play on Sunday with a doubles match against Queens and a singles contest with Gardner-Webb. The Spartans were victorious in their No. 2 (Arora/Ewers) doubles contest versus Queens. In its final singles match of the weekend, Upstate won five matchups from Arora, Neto, Bernardes, Garrido and Eble during the 50-16 triumph over Gardner-Webb.
The Spartans are back in action Oct. 6-7 at the Mercer Gridiron Classic in Macon, Ga.
Follow Upstate men's tennis on Facebook (UpstateAthletics), Twitter (@UpstateMWTennis), Instagram (@upstatespartans), YouTube (USCUpstateAthletics) and text/e-mail alerts (www.upstatespartans.com/list-signup).
