Wingate, N.C.----The number 26 USC Aiken men’s tennis took an early advantage after doubles and built the edge into a 7-2 NCAA Division II victory over Wingate University Thursday afternoon at the WU Tennis Complex. The Pacers pick up their second triumph over the Bulldogs this year, as USCA earned a 6-3 victory at Aiken February 3.
Both teams are ranked in the NCAA Division II Southeast Region top 18. USC Aiken (11-10 overall) is number 10, while Wingate (13-4 overall) is number 13. The Bulldogs saw a nine-match winning streak end Thursday. Wingate will face the Tusculum/Brevard winner in the semi-finals of the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference men’s tennis tournament Friday, April 23 (1 p.m.) in Rock Hill, S.C.
The Pacers started the day with victories at the number one and the number two doubles flights. At the number two position, the Wingate duo of junior
Fernando Montemurro (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and sophomore
Greg Machado (Sao Paulo, Brazil) had three match points, but they could not put away Aiken senior
Filipe Garcia (Valinhos, Brazil) and junior
Juan Guglielmeti (Mar del Plata, Argentina). The Pacer pair prevailed 9-8 (2).
Wingate exacted a small measure of revenge, taking the number three doubles match by the same 9-8 score. Bulldog sophomores
Matthew Lichtenstein (Darnestown, Md.) and
Andrew Owen (Kitchener, Ontario) defeated USCA freshmen
Ben Klaas (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) and
Nicolas Markeiwicz (Liege, Belgium) in a back-and-forth match. Klaas and Markeiwicz edged Lichtenstein and Wingate junior
Braeden Patchell (Oakville, Ontario) 8-6 in the February encounter.
Owen won two matches for the host Bulldogs. In the number three singles match, Owen survived Markeiwicz 7-5, 7-5. Wingate won only one other set in the other five singles. Montemurro split sets with Guglielmeti at the number six flight, but the Pacer junior earned a 10-5 super tie-breaker triumph (the tie-breaker was played in lieu of the traditional third set).
Wingate sophomore
Flavio Rathsam (Sao Paulo, Brazil) saw his 26-match singles winning streak end Thursday afternoon. Klaas earned a straight sets (6-3, 6-4) win over Rathsam at the number five flight. Rathsam is 15-1 overall for his sophomore season and 28-2 overall for his Bulldog career.
The Pacers will have little time to rest on their laurels. USC Aiken opens the 2010 Peach Belt Conference tournament Friday, facing NCAA Division II number one team Armstrong Atlantic State University (24-1 overall) in Jonesboro, Ga. The first serve at the Clayton County Tennis Center is slated for 12 noon. The AASU Pirates are the PBC number one seed, while the USCA Pacers are the number eight seed.
NCAA DIVISION II MEN’S MATCH RESULTS
#26 USC AIKEN 7, WINGATE 2 (at Wingate, N.C.)
Singles
#1 Gregory Andrade (USCA) def. Bruno Pudence (WIN) 6-4, 6-4
#2 Juan Xavier Ponce (USCA) def. Matthew Lichtenstein (WIN) 6-2, 6-2
#3 Andrew Owen (WIN) def. Nicolas Markeiwicz (USCA) 7-5, 7-5
#4 Filipe Garcia (USCA) def. Braeden Patchell (WIN) 6-0, 6-4
#5 Ben Klaas (USCA) def. Flavio Rathsam (WIN) 6-3, 6-4
#6 Juan Guglielmeti (USCA) def. Fernando Montemurro (WIN) 6-4, 1-6, 1-0 (5)
Doubles
#1 NCAA #7 Ponce/Andrade (USCA) def. Pudence/Rathsam (WIN) 8-5
#2 Garcia/Guglielmeti (USCA) def Montemurro/Greg Machado (WIN) 9-8 (2)
#3 Lichtenstein/Owen (WIN) def. Markeiwicz/Klaas (USCA) 9-8 (3)
RECORDS
Wingate 13-4 overall; Regional ranking #13
USC Aiken 11-10 overall; National ranking #26; Regional ranking #10