Feb. 7, 2008

Final Stats

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Speared on by a huge comeback in No. 2 doubles from senior Sebastian Gonzales-Orbegoso (Lima, Peru/Cambridge College) and junior Leandro Osorio (Quillota, Chile/Subercaseaux), the USC Upstate men's tennis team downed crosstown rival Wofford, 6-1, on Thursday night at the Reeves Tennis Center.

The win is head coach Alessandro De Marzo's 101st in his four years at Upstate. The women's team, which he also directs, gave him his 100th win, as their 5-2 win over Wofford was decided moments before the men's team clinched their match. De Marzo has a 53-20 mark as the men's coach and a 48-22 mark with the women.

Down 5-1 in doubles, the duo came back to win seven of the next eight games to win the match, 8-6, against Scott Collins and Christopher Williams and clinch the doubles point for Upstate (2-2). Sophomore Jack Roux (Santiago, Chile/Subercaseaux) won at No. 3 doubles, 8-6, against Alan Donald and Richard Cahi, while the team suffered an 8-6 setback at No. 1 doubles.

In singles, Tori paced the Spartans by taking a 6-3, 6-2 decision at the No. 4 slot against Williams. Sophomore Renzo Airaldi (Lima, Peru/Domingo Faustino Santiago) came back from a 4-3 first set deficit to take the set 7-6 in the tiebreak and posted a 6-1 win in the second set to give the Spartans a 3-0 lead.

Roux and Osorio helped the Spartans clinch the match, with Roux making a huge comeback after dropping the first set 6-1 to Collins at No. 3 singles. Roux came back to win 6-3 in the second set and forced a tiebreak in the third set before winning, 7-3 to take the match. At No. 6 singles, which began after the first match was completed, Osorio controlled Michael Schecter, 6-1, 6-1.

The final Upstate win came in a tense No. 1 singles match, with junior Sandy Franz (Duesseldorf, Germany/Berufskolleg Hilden) coming back after a 6-3 loss in the first set to Andrew Stubbs. The 96th-ranked Franz recovered to win the second set 6-2 and won the third-set tiebreaker to take a 7-6 win.

The Spartans will move on to host S.C. State on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the USC Upstate Tennis Complex.

Tennis Match Results
USC Upstate 6, Wofford 1
 Singles competition 
1. #96 Sandy Franz (UPST) def. Andrew Stubbs (WOF) 3-6, 6-2, 7-6
2. Renzo Airaldi (UPST) def. George Kernodle (WOF) 7-6, 6-1
3. Jack Roux (UPST) def. Scott Collins (WOF) 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3)
4. Javier Tori (UPST) def. Christopher Williams (WOF) 6-3, 6-2
5. Alan Donald (WOF) def. S. Gonzales-Orbegoso (UPST) 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
6. Leandro Osorio (UPST) def. Michael Schecter (WOF) 6-1, 6-1
 Doubles competition 
1. Andrew Stubbs/George Kernodle (WOF) def. Sandy Franz/Renzo Airaldi (UPST) 8-6
2. Leandro Osorio/S. Gonzales-Orbegoso (UPST) def. Scott Collins/Christopher Williams (WOF) 8-6
3. Javier Tori/Jack Roux (UPST) def. Alan Donald/Richard Cahi (WOF) 8-6
Match Notes:
USC Upstate 2-2
Wofford 2-2