Presbyterian, Tusculum Advance In Food Lion SAC Men’s Tennis Tournament

MARS HILL, NC - Top-seeded Presbyterian College and Tusculum College, the number two seed, advanced to the finals of the 2007 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Men's Tennis Tournament Friday morning. PC defeated No. 4 Catawba College 5-1 while Tusculum beat No. 3 seed Newberry College, 5-0. The teams will meet at 2:30 p.m. on Friday in the championship game. The event is being played at the Hart Tennis Complex on the campus of Mars Hill College.

Tusculum 5, Newberry 0

The Pioneers swept doubles play to take a 3-0 lead heading into singles play. Second team All-SAC member Carlos Garcia (Caracas, Venezuela) and Sergio Espinosa (Caracas, Venezuela) teamed up at No. 1 doubles to win 9-8 over Daryl Van Vuuren (Durban, South Africa) and Jeremy Smith (Durban, South Africa). Leo Guaycurus (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Henrique Rodrigues (Salvador-Bahia, Brazil) then defeated Maxim Sukharev (Vilnius, Lithuania) and Felipe Sobrinho (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 8-6, at No. 2 doubles. TC finished the sweep in doubles action when Julien Jacob (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) and Nicolas Bigler (Chernex, Switzerland) defeated Scott Gates (Atlanta, GA) and Mikael Jurkovic (Atlanta, GA) by a score of 8-5.

Espinosa, a first team All-SAC pick, won the Pioneers' fourth point at No. 1 singles defeating first team All-SAC selection Sukharev in straight sets (6-4, 6-3). Bigler ended the match with a straight set victory (6-1, 6-3) over Van Vuuren, a second team All-SAC selection. Tusculum improved to 15-5 overall while Newberry has a record of 7-8.

Singles
#1 Sergio Espinosa (TC) def. Maxim Sukharev (NC) 6-4, 6-3
#2 Nicolas Bigler (TC) def. Daryl Van Vuuren (NC) 6-1, 6-3
#3 Carlos Garcis (TC) vs. Jeremy Smith (NC), DNF
#4 Henrique Rodrigues (TC) vs. Felipe Sobrinho (NC), DNF
#5 Leo Guaycurus (TC) vs. Lucas Mattos (NC), DNF
#6 Hunter Beal (TC) vs. Scott Gates (NC), DNF

Doubles
#1 Garcia/Espinosa (TC) def. Van Vuuren/Smith (NC) 9-8
#2 Guaycurus/Rodrigues (TC) def. Sukharev/Sobrinho (NC) 8-6
#3 Julien Jacob/Bigler (TC) def. Gates/Mikael Jurkovic (NC) 8-5

Final Score: 5-0
Records: Tusculum (15-5); Newberry (7-8)

Presbyterian 5, Catawba 1

In the second semifinal match, No. 1 Presbyterian College prevailed 5-1 over the No. 4 seed, Catawba College. The Blue Hose also swept double play to help themselves seal the win. PC improved to 16-5 on the year while Catawba fell to 19-6 on the season.

The Blue Hose No. 1 doubles team of first team All-SAC pick Aaron Chapman (Mount Pleasant, Australia) and Matthew Martin (Surrey, British Columbia, Canada) defeated Catawba's Jose Velazquez (Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic) and Drew Ramsey (Raleigh, NC), 8-3. Zach Glankler (Highland Village, TX) and Andrew Lee (Myrtle Beach, SC) beat Sean Soltan (Vetlanda, Sweden) and Fernando Aguiar (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) by a score of 8-5. Patrick Fediuk (Kimberly, British Columbia, Canada) and Michael Nicol (Spartanburg, SC) completed the doubles sweep with an 8-2 victory over Cyle Peterson (Campbell River, British Columbia, Canada) and Hector Bousoulas (Athens, Greece). Lee, Fediuk and Nicol were all second team All-SAC selections.

Velazquez, the SAC Player of the Year, defeated Chapman at No. 1 doubles (7-5, 7-5) for Catawba's only point. Martin, the SAC Freshman of the Year, defeated Soltan (6-4, 7-6) at No. 2 singles before Ruan Olivier (Welkom, South Africa) beat Aguiar (6-1, 6-0) to end the match.

Singles
#1 Jose Velazquez (CC) def. Andrew Chapman (PC) 7-5, 7-5
#2 Matthew Martin (PC) def. Sean Soltan (CC) 6-4, 7-6
#3 Ruan Olivier (PC) def. Fernando Aguiar (CC) 6-1, 6-0
#4 Michael Nicol (PC) vs. Hector Bousoulas (CC) DNF
#5 Patrick Fediuk (PC) vs. Cyle Peterson (CC) DNF
#6 Andrew Lee (PC) vs. Drew Ramsey (CC) DNF

Doubles
#1 Chapman/Martin (PC) def. Velazquez/Ramsey (CC) 8-3
#2 Zach Glankler/Lee (PC) def. Soltan/Aguiar (CC) 8-5
#3 Fediuk/Lee (PC) vs. Peterson/Ramsey (CC) DNF

Final Score: 5-1
Records: Presbyterian (16-5); Catawba (19-6)