Box Score (.pdf)

Spartanburg, S.C. – The USC Upstate men's tennis team picked up its second straight home victory on Tuesday afternoon as the Spartans defeated the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs 5-2 in non-conference action from the USC Upstate Tennis Complex.

Upstate improves to 3-5 overall while Gardner-Webb falls to 4-8 on the season.

"We knew today would be a tough match with Gardner-Webb, especially with Ankush out of the lineup," said assistant coach Tim McLane. "Grabbing the doubles point was crucial and then we had a bunch of guys really step up when it came to singles. One of our goals for this season is to be undefeated at home and we took another step towards that today."

The Spartans grabbed a 1-0 lead early on after taking the doubles point by winning at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions. Fernando Bernardes and Ignacio Garrido bested Paul Hogan and Stefano Puga 6-4 at No. 1, while Felix Ewers and Francisco Neto held off Maximillian Scholl and Michael Perry 7-6(5) to clinch the doubles point.

Lenhard Haupt put Upstate ahead 2-0 with his 6-2, 6-1 singles win over Adam Schmidt at the No. 2 position. Neto stretched the lead to 3-0 following a 6-0, 7-5 victory over Puga at No. 4.

Following a victory by Gardner-Webb at No. 6, Garrido sealed the win for the Spartans by downing Breno Pentz in three sets 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 at No. 5. Bernardes also earned a singles win playing in the No. 3 position, defeating Hogan 6-4, 6-7(5), 10-5.

Upstate begins a four-match road trip on Sunday, March 5 when it travels to Samford for a 2 p.m. match.

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Match Results
Singles Competition
1.  SCHOLL, Maximillian (GWU-M) def. Felix Ewers (UPST) 6-3, 7-6(1)
2.  Lenhard Haupt (UPST) def. SCHMIDT, Adam (GWU-M) 6-2, 6-1
3.  Fernando Bernardes (UPST) def. HOGAN, Paul (GWU-M) 6-4, 6-7(5), 10-5
4.  Francisco Neto (UPST) def. PUGA, Stefano (GWU-M) 6-0, 7-5
5.  Ignacio Garrido (UPST) def. PLENTZ, Breno (GWU-M) 2-6, 6-2, 6-1
6.  GILBERT, Ross (GWU-M) def. Tomas Venere (UPST) 6-3, 6-4

Doubles Competition
1.  Fernando Bernardes/Ignacio Garrido (UPST) def. HOGAN, Paul/PUGA, Stefano (GWU-M) 6-4
2.  GILBERT, Ross/PLENTZ, Breno (GWU-M) def. Lenhard Haupt/Tomas Venere (UPST) 6-3
3.  Felix Ewers/Francisco Neto (UPST) def. SCHOLL, Maxmillian/PERRY, Michael (GWU-M) 7-6(5)