Newberry, Mars Hill Fall In NCAA Men’s Tennis Southeast Region Tournament

BOCA RATON, Fla. - Host Lynn University shut out visiting Newberry College, 5-0, in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Southeast Region Championships on Friday afternoon. The Indians were making their first ever appearance in NCAA postseason play.

Lynn (17-5) posted a 3-0 record in doubles to begin the match. Fourth-ranked Tomas Racak and Lorenzo Cava defeated Daryl Van Vuuren (Durban, South Africa) and Jeremy Smith (Durban, South Africa), 8-5, in the top position while No. 19 Diego Rodriguez and Julien Carsuzaa beat Lucas Mattos (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Maxim Sukharev (Vilnius, Lithuania), 8-3, in the second spot. The LU duo of Alessandro Sarra and Axel Joachim completed the sweep with an 8-2 decision in the third flight over Felipe Sobrinho (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Mikael Jurkovic (Atlanta, Ga.).

In singles, the Knights collected a pair of points while they were up a set on Newberry (10-8) in each match. Fourteenth-ranked Carsuzaa blanked Van Vuuren 6-0, 6-0 in the second position for the first point before No. 44 Racak defeated Smith 6-1, 6-1 in the third slot to seal the win.

Lynn returns to action on Saturday at 1 p.m. to face the winner of the No. 10 Florida Southern and No. 40 Mars Hill match. The winner of Saturday's showdown will move on to the national tournament in Houston beginning next Wednesday.

Newberry finishes its season with its first ever regional ranking and NCAA Tournament appearance and its highest South Atlantic Conference finish in program history.

No. 6 Lynn University 5, Newberry 0
05/09/08 at Boca Raton, Fla. (McCusker Sports Complex)

Singles competition
1. #11 Lorenzo Cava (LUM) vs. Maxim Sukharev (NEWM) 6-2, 2-0, unfinished
2. #14 Julien Carsuzaa (LUM) def. Daryl Van Vuuren (NEWM) 6-0, 6-0
3. #44 Tomas Racak (LUM) def. Jeremy Smith (NEWM) 6-1, 6-1
4. Diego Rodriguez (LUM) vs. Lucas Mattos (NEWM) 6-4, 1-0, unfinished
5. Alessandro Sarra (LUM) vs. Felipe Sobrinho (NEWM) 6-1, 4-1, unfinished
6. Axel Joachim (LUM) vs. Mikael Jurkovic (NEWM) 6-1, 4-1, unfinished

Doubles competition
1. #4 Tomas Racak/Lorenzo Cava (LUM) def. Daryl Van Vuuren/Jeremy Smith (NEWM) 8-5
2. #19 Diego Rodriguez/Julien Carsuzaa (LUM) def. Lucas Mattos/Maxim Sukharev (NEWM) 8-3
3. Alessandro Sarra/Axel Joachim (LUM) def. Felipe Sobrinho/Mikael Jurkovic (NEWM) 8-2

Florida Southern 5, Mars Hill 1

BOCA RATON, FL - Florida Southern's men's tennis team will face Lynn University for the third time this season, courtesy of a 5-1 victory over Mars Hill in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Southeast Region Championships on Friday afternoon.

The Moccasins opened the day with a doubles split, taking wins in the top two positions over the Lions. Ninth-ranked Michael Knoedler and Roman Schirmaier defeated John Allen and Taylan Batuk 8-1 in the top spot while Alex Thesleff and Guenther Fercher beat Stevan Stankovic and Carlos Oyaga 8-4 in the second position.

Mars Hill earned its lone point of the day in the third doubles slot as Koeche Smith and Cameron Saffer outlasted Justin LaFlamme and Greg Heartt 9-8(7) in a tiebreaker.

Florida Southern won all three necessary singles matches in straight sets. Third-ranked Knoedler topped Allen 6-2, 6-2 in the top position, Fercher blanked Stankovic 6-0, 6-0 in the fourth spot and Ben Taylor beat Saffer 6-0, 6-1 in No. 6 singles.

Unfinished matches included No. 49 Schurmaier up 6-5 on Smith, Thesleff leading Batuk 6-3, 3-2 and LaFlamme tied with Oyaga 6-6 in a tiebreak.

The Mocs advance to face the host Fighting Knights in the region title match for the third time in four years. Lynn won both other contests and is 2-0 against FSC this season.

#10 Florida Southern 5, #40 Mars Hill 1

Singles competition
1. #3 Michael Knoedler (FSM) def. John Allen (MHM) 6-2, 6-2
2. #49 Roman Schirmaier (FSM) vs. Koeche Smith (MHM) 6-5, unfinished
3. Alex Thesleff (FSM) vs. Taylan Batuk (MHM) 6-3, 3-2, unfinished
4. Guenther Fercher (FSM) def. Stevan Stankovic (MHM) 6-0, 6-0
5. Justin LaFlamme (FSM) vs. Carlos Oyaga (MHM) 6-6, unfinished
6. Ben Taylor (FSM) def. Cameron Saffer (MHM) 6-0, 6-1

Doubles competition
1. #9 Michael Knoedler/Roman Schirmaier (FSM) def. John Allen/Taylan Batuk (MHM) 8-1
2. Alex Thesleff/Guenther Fercher (FSM) def. Stevan Stankovic/Carlos Oyaga (MHM) 8-4
3. Koeche Smith/Cameron Saffer (MHM) def. Justin LaFlamme/Greg Heartt (FSM) 9-8 (9-7)