CONWAY, S.C. – The USC Upstate men's tennis team fell 6-1 on Saturday afternoon to Coastal Carolina at Stevens Tennis Complex.
 
"I know the guys are a little bummed we weren't able to turn this one around, but I couldn't be more pleased with the way we competed against a very solid Coastal Carolina team," USC Upstate head tennis coach Tim McLane said. "With us being really short and having to forfeit a point at the start it would've been easy for our guys to hang their head, but they just kept battling. We had all kinds of chances to pull off a nice upset today but we just didn't do a good enough job of executing on big points in both doubles and singles. Again, very happy with the heart these guys showed today."
 
With only five players in the lineup against Coastal Carolina the Spartans fought with their backs against the wall the whole day. The No. 1 doubles tandem of Fernando Bernardes and Frederick Sydow lost 6-3 but the No. 2 doubles tandem of Leon Roider and Tom Russwurm took Coastal to the brink. Eventually the Spartans No. 2 pairing faltered towards the end and lost 7-5.
 
In singles action Bernardes lost the opening set 6-3 at the No. 1 position. In the second set however, Bernardes put pressure on his opponent but came up short at 7-6. At the No. 2 singles position Leon Roider picked up his first collegiate win for the Spartans with a 6-2, 6-2 straight sets victory. Following the victory at No. 2 singles Sydow gave it his all at the No. 3 position but lost the final set 7-6 to give Coastal the point.
 
Both Tom Russwurm and Alex Muehr fell in straight sets at the No. 4 and No. 5 singles positions to round out the lineup for USC Upstate.
 
The USC Upstate men's tennis team will be back in action on Tuesday, February 4 at Davidson College. The match is slated for a 5:00 p.m. first serve.
 
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