Mars Hill, Brevard Advance In Food Lion SAC Men’s Tennis Tournament

ROCK HILL, S.C. - The No. 4 seed Mars Hill College men's tennis team advanced to Friday's semifinal round of the 2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Men's Tennis Tournament by defeating No. 5 seed Carson-Newman College, 5-0, in Thursday's opening round play at the Rock Hill Tennis Center in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Mars Hill took a 3-0 lead out of doubles play as Stevan Stankovic and Lucas Simm opened play with a victory of Carson-Newman's Jack Harvie and Paul Birdsong on court No. 2, 8-4. Alessandro du Besse and Koeche Smith combined to take the point at court No. 1 for the Lions with the 8-6 win over Rudolfo Schwartz and Trent Slagle. Bradley Bassinger and Carlos Oyaga completed the doubles sweep for the Lions on court No. 3 with their hard-fought 8-6 victory over Adriano Kira and Chris Acker.

Simm opened up singles play with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Kira on court No. 3 to give Mars Hill the 4-0 advantage. Du Besse closed out the match and the sweep at No. 1 singles with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Schwartz, as the rest of the matches went unfinished.

Mars Hill improves to 7-9 on the season with the win over Carson-Newman, advancing the Lions into the tournament semifinals Friday afternoon against No. 1 seed Lincoln Memorial at 1 p.m.

"Doubles was very important to us as we won all three matches to get off to a good start," said Mars Hill Head Coach Jarod Camerota. "We took care of business in our singles matches and now we're ready to come out and compete hard against Lincoln Memorial."

Carson-Newman falls to 9-8 on the season and will most likely not qualify for the NCAA regional tournament.

"Mars Hill was just too tough today," said Head Coach Jean Love said.

No. 4 Mars Hill 5, No. 5 Carson-Newman 0
Apr 22, 2010 at Rock Hill, S.C. (Rock Hill Tennis Center)

Singles competition
1. Alessandro du Besse (MHC) def. Rudolfo Schwartz (C-N) 6-2, 6-1
2. Koeche Smith (MHC) vs. Trent Slagle (C-N) 6-2, 2-3, unfinished
3. Lucas Simm (MHC) def. Adriano Kira (C-N) 6-1, 6-1
4. Stevan Stankovic (MHC) vs. Jack Harvie (C-N) 1-6, 2-1, unfinished
5. Carlos Oyaga (MHC) vs. Derek Holdway (C-N) 6-4, 0-1, unfinished
6. Bradley Bassinger (MHC) vs. Paul Birdsong (C-N) unfinished

Doubles competition
1. Alessandro du Besse/Koeche Smith (MHC) def. Rudolfo Schwartz/Trent Slagle (C-N) 8-6
2. Stevan Stankovic/Lucas Simm (MHC) def. Jack Harvie/Paul Birdsong (C-N) 8-4
3. Bradley Bassinger/Carlos Oyaga (MHC) def. Adriano Kira/Chris Acker (C-N) 8-6

Match Notes
No. 5 Carson-Newman 9-8
No. 4 Mars Hill 7-9
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (,3,1)
Du Besse clinches match for Mars Hill at singles No. 1
Lions will take on No. 1 Lincoln Memorial Friday at 1 p.m.
T-2:42 A-33

Brevard 5, Tusculum 1

ROCK HILL, S.C. - The No. 6 seed Brevard College men's tennis team advanced to Friday's semifinal round of the 2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Men's Tennis Tournament by defeating No. 3 seed Tusculum College, 5-1, in Thursday's opening round play at the Rock Hill Tennis Center in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Brevard held the 3-0 advantage after doubles play. Jonathan Kuhn and Andrew Thompson opened play with an 8-3 victory over Tusculum's Drew Kiser and Gui Carvalho on court No. 3. Cole Altizer and Jarred Fisher gave the Tornados their second point with the 8-3 win on court No. 2 over Steven Lin and Oliver Smith. Dorian Feron and Scott McCormick completed the doubles sweep for Brevard, with a 8-5 win over Henrique Rodrigues and Luis Zamora.

Altizer put the Tornados up 4-0 with a victory on singles court No. 2, defeating Zamora in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3. Lin countered for Tusculum, earning the Pioneers first point of the afternoon on court No. 3 with his straight set win over Thompson, 6-4, 7-5. Feron clinched the match for the Tornados on court No. 5, winning over Kiser by a score of 6-2, 6-2.

Brevard advances to the tournament semifinals for the first time since joining the South Atlantic Conference and will take on No. 2 Wingate at the Rock Hill Tennis Center Friday afternoon at 1 p.m.

"It was a great win for our guys, as we always play Tusculum close. Today shows what happens when all of our guys show up on the same day and play like they can. Looking forward to facing another tough opponent tomorrow," said Brevard Head Coach Paul Thomson.

Tusculum ends the year with a 14-5 overall record and most likely will not qualify for the NCAA regional tournament.

"Brevard was the better team today. They jumped on us in doubles and we simply were never able to recover from being down 3-0," said Tusculum Head Coach Tommy Arnett. "I wish Brevard the best."

No. 6 Brevard 5, No. 3 Tusculum 1
Apr 22, 2010 at Rock Hill S.C. (Rock Hill Tennis Center)

Singles competition
1. Henrique Rodrigues (TC) vs. Scott McCormick (BC) 1-6, 6-3, unfinished
2. Cole Altizer (BC) def. Luis Zamora (TC) 6-4, 6-3
3. Steven Lin (TC) def. Andrew Thompson (BC) 6-4, 7-5
4. Oliver Smith (TC) vs. Jarred Fisher (BC) 7-5, 3-6, 1-2, unfinished
5. Dorian Feron (BC) def. Drew Kiser (TC) 6-2, 6-2
6. Gui Carvalho (TC) vs. Shane Apps (BC) 3-4, unfinished

Doubles competition
1. Dorian Feron/Scott McCormick (BC) def. Henrique Rodrigues/Luis Zamora (TC) 8-5
2. Cole Altizer/Jarred Fisher (BC) def. Steven Lin/Oliver Smith (TC) 8-3
3. Jonathan Kuhn/Andrew Thompson (BC) def. Drew Kiser/Gui Carvalho (TC) 8-3

Match Notes
No. 6 Brevard 8-11
No. 3 Tusculum 14-5
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (,2,3,5)
2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament
Feron clinches match with victory at No. 5 singles
Brevard will advance to play No. 2 Wingate tomorrow at 1 p.m.