SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The FGCU men's tennis team won the doubles point, but lost in singles on the road against USC Upstate, 6-1, on Friday in Spartanburg, S.C. at the Upstate Tennis Complex.
FGCU falls to 5-5 (2-1 A-Sun) on the season and USC Upstate improves to 8-6 (1-2 A-Sun).
The Eagles won the doubles point to take an early 1-0 lead in the match. Junior Jackson Moore (Bradenton, Fla./Lakewood Ranch HS/Georgia State) and freshman Tianyu Bao (Tianjin, China/Bayshore HS) lost to Ramiro Blanco and Matthias Kidler, 8-2 at No. 1 doubles. The team of senior Matthew Rock (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Fort Lauderdale HS/Jacksonville) and sophomore Lance Lvovsky (Dania,Fla./Broward Virtual School/Jacksonville) defeated Yvon Haessig and Jacob Darling, 8-5 at No. 2 doubles.
In the final doubles match, sophomore Dean Tsamas (Lexington, Ky./Henry Clay HS) and freshman Michael Beiler (Palm Harbor, Fla./Dunedin HS) outlasted Gonzalo Blanco and Pierre Vernin, 9-7, at No. 3 doubles.
In singles action, the Spartans tied the match with a straight sets win at No. 2 singles and took the lead as Vernin defeated Rock, 6-1, 6-4, at No. 4 singles.
At No. 6 singles, Belier lost in straight sets to Tyler Grove, 6-2, 6-4. Blanco took down Bao, 6-1, 6-4, at No. 1 singles to clinch the victory for USC Upstate.
Lvovsky won the first set 6-3 against Haessig, but dropped the final two sets 6-2 and 10-5 in the third set super tiebreaker. In the final match, Tsamas lost in straight sets to Gonzalo Blanco, 6-2, 6-3, at No. 3 singles.
The Green and Blue continues their two-match road swing against A-Sun member ETSU on Saturday at 11 a.m. in Johnson City, Tenn.
Results and recaps will be available on www.FGCUathletics.com after each match this season.
USC Upstate 6, FGCU 1
Singles competition
1. Ramiro Blanco (UPST) def. Tianyu Bao (FGCU) 6-1, 6-4
2. Matthias Kidler (UPST) def. Jackson Moore (FGCU) 6-0, 6-0
3. Gonzalo Blanco (UPST) def. Dean Tsamas (FGCU) 6-2, 6-3
4. Pierre Vernin (UPST) def. Matthew Rock (FGCU) 6-1, 6-4
5. Yvon Haessig (UPST) def. Lance Lvovsky (FGCU) 3-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-5)
6. Tyler Grove (UPST) def. Michael Beiler (FGCU) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Ramiro Blanco/Matthias Kidler (UPST) def. Tianyu Bao/Jackson Moore (FGCU) 8-2
2. Matthew Rock/Lance Lvovsky (FGCU) def. Yvon Haessig/Jacob Darling (UPST) 8-5
3. Dean Tsamas/Michael Beiler (FGCU) def. Gonzalo Blanco/Pierre Vernin (UPST) 9-7
Match Notes:
FGCU 5-5 (2-1 A-Sun)
USC Upstate 8-6 (1-2 A-Sun)
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (2,4,6,1,3,5)
