Box Score (.pdf)
Birmingham, Ala. – The USC Upstate men's tennis team came up just short in its non-conference match on the road Sunday afternoon, falling to the Samford Bulldogs 4-3 at the Samford Tennis Center.
Upstate falls to 3-6 on the season while Samford improves to 4-7 overall.
"Today was another tight battle against another very good team," said assistant coach Tim McLane. "We got off to a slow start in doubles and that point ended up costing us in the end. The guys did a great job of fighting back and showed a lot of heart in singles. We continue putting ourselves in good positions and eventually we're going to break through. For now we've got to regroup and get ready for the next stop on our spring break tour tomorrow versus Troy."
The Bulldogs picked up the doubles point after earning wins at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions to take a 1-0 lead over the Spartans. The No. 3 doubles combination of Felix Ewers and Francisco Neto defeated Curran Verma and Austin Heinz 6-3.
In singles play, Samford went on to win three of the six matches to earn the one-point victory.
Upstate received singles victories from Ankush Arora (No. 4), Francisco Neto (No. 5) and Ignacio Garrido (No. 6). Neto evened the match for the Spartans after winning his match over Verma in straight sets 6-3, 6-1. Upstate won two of the final three matches from Arora and Garrido. Arora topped Max Rebol in straight sets 6-4, 7-6, while Garrido held off Hugo Moreira in three sets 6-7, 6-3, 6-2.
The Spartans continue their road trip in the state of Alabama on Monday afternoon at 3 p.m. against Troy.
Match Results
Singles Competition
1. Justin Ghavami (SAM) def. Felix Ewers (UPST) 7-6, 3-6, 6-3
2. Jake Faundez (SAM) def. Lenhard Haupt (UPST) 6-3, 6-3
3. Eduardo L. Sanchez (SAM) def. Fernando Bernardes (UPST) 6-1, 6-2
4. Ankush Arora (UPST) def. Max Rebol (SAM) 6-4, 7-6
5. Francisco Neto (UPST) def. Curran Verma (SAM) 6-3, 6-1
6. Ignacio Garrido (UPST) def. Hugo Moreira (SAM) 6-7, 6-3, 6-2
Doubles Competition
1. Jake Faundez/Eduardo L. Sanchez (SAM) def. Fernando Bernardes/Ignacio Garrido (UPST) 6-2
2. Max Rebol/Justin Ghavami (SAM) def. Ankush Arora/Lenhard Haupt (UPST) 7-5
3. Felix Ewers/Francisco Neto (UPST) def. Curran Verma/Austin Heinz (SAM) 6-3
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