Men’s Tennis Defeats Eagles in SAC Tourney

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 Tournament by defeating No. 5 seed Carson-Newman College, 5-0, in Thursday's opening round play at the Rock Hill Tennis Center.

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 7-10 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.

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

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

#5 Carson-Newman 9-8

#4 Mars Hill 7-10

Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (,3,1)

2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament

Du Besse clinches match for Mars Hill at singles No. 1

Lions will take on #1 Lincoln Memorial tomorrow at 1 p.m.

T-2:42 A-33