Tusculum Wins 2008 Food Lion SAC Men’s Tennis Tournament With 5-1 Victory Over Newberry

ROCK HILL, S.C. --- Carlos Garcia accounted for two points to lead top-seed Tusculum to a 5-1 win over No. 3 Newberry to win the 2008 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Men's Tennis Tournament, Saturday afternoon at the Rock Hill Tennis Center.

The Pioneers (20-1), winners of their last 14, capture the program's second Food Lion SAC Tournament trophy, while also establishing a new school single-season record with 20 victories. Newberry ends its season at 10-7, winning five of its last seven.

During this week's tournament, Garcia (Caracas, Venezuela) went 3-0 in both singles and doubles play and was named the 2008 Food Lion SAC Tournament Most Valuable Player.

Carlos Garcia

In doubles action, Tusculum won a point at the second flight when the duo of Henrique Rodrigues (Salvador-Bahia, Brazil) and Leo Guaycurus (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) downed the Newberry pairing of Lucas Mattos (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Maxim Sukharev (Vilnius, Lithuania), 8-4.

Tusculum made it a 2-0 advantage as Garcia and No. 1 doubles partner Sergio Espinosa (Caracas, Venezuela) rallied from a 6-5 deficit to score the final three points of the match to win 8-6 over Jeremy Smith (Durban, South Africa) and Daryl Van Vuuren (Durban, South Africa).

But Newberry gained a spark heading into singles play as the duo of Mikael Jurkovic (Atlanta, Ga.) and Felipe Sobrinho (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) rallied from 6-3 down to score the final five points to win 8-6 at No. 3 doubles.

With Tusculum leading 2-1, Espinosa scored a 6-4, 6-1 win over Van Vuuren at No. 2 singles to move TC up 3-1. Garcia edged the Pioneers closer to victory with his 6-4, 6-1 win against Smith at the third flight. The fifth and deciding point came at No. 1 singles as Bigler recorded a 6-1, 6-3 triumph over Sukharev to seal the win.

Tusculum earns the league's automatic berth to next month's NCAA Division II Tournament. It will be the Pioneers second straight trip to the national postseason and sixth in school history.

Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Men's Tennis Tournament Championship
No. 1 Tusculum 5, No. 3 Newberry 1 (Final)

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

Doubles
1 - Garcia/Espinosa (TC) def. Smith/Vuuren (NEW), 8-6
2 - Guaycurus/Rodrigues (TC) def. Mattos/Sukharev (NEW), 8-4
3 - Jurkovic/Sobrinho (NEW) def. Bigler/Beal (TC), 8-6

Records: Tusculum (20-1); Newberry (10-7)
Time: 1:45