GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Paulo dos Santos broke a 4-4 tie with his three-set win at No. 6 singles to lead the Tusculum College men's tennis team to a 5-4 victory over North Greenville University Friday afternoon at the Nichols Tennis Complex.

In a six-and-half hour marathon match that went back and forth, the Pioneers (6-0) recorded its sixth consecutive victory to start the season, while the Crusaders even their record at 3-3.

Doubles play proved to a true barometer of how the match would go. Tusculum got on the board first when the No. 3 pairing of Gui Carvalho and Drew Kiser defeated Guilerme Ferreira and Ian Harvic, 8-4 in pro sets. The Crusaders knotted the match at 1-1 as the NGU duo of Hugo Ciarrocchi and Keshia Sedov edged Steven Lin and Oliver Smith, 8-5 at No. 2 doubles. TC captured a critical point at the top flight, as Henrique Rodrigues and Luis Zamora outlasted Luis Campos and Timur Kamilov, 9-8.

Lin bounced back from his doubles set-back with a 7-6, 6-1 victory over Sedov at No. 3 singles. But the Crusaders posted victories at the top two flights. Campos defeated Zamora 6-3, 6-2 at No. 2 singles, while Kamilov followed with a 7-6, 6-2 triumph over Rodrigues at the No. 1 flight.

With the match all square at 3-3, Tusculum went ahead thanks to Kiser's 6-2, 6-2 win over Tomas Clack in the fifth flight match-up. Ciarrocchi tied the match at 4-4 as he rallied from a set down to beat Smith 1-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Paulo dos Santos captured the deciding point in a thrilling 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 win over Ferreira at No. 6 singles in the final match of the day.

Tusculum travels to South Carolina for five matches in the Palmetto State, beginning with Saturday's 2 p.m. match at 15th-ranked Francis Marion University. It will be Tusculum's third match in as many days.

- TC -

Tusculum 5, North Greenville 4
Singles
1. Timur Kamilov (NGUM) def. Henrique Rodrigues (TCM) 7-6, 6-2
2. Luis Campos (NGUM) def. Luis Zamora (TCM) 6-3, 6-2
3. Steven Lin (TCM) def. Keshia Sedov (NGUM) 7-6, 6-1
4. Hugo Ciarrocchi (NGUM) def. Oliver Smith (TCM) 1-6, 6-4, 6-3
5. Drew Kiser (TCM) def. Tomas Clack (NGUM) 6-2, 6-2
6. Paulo dos Santos (TCM) def. Guilerme Ferreira (NGUM) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4

Doubles
1. Henrique Rodrigues/Luis Zamora (TCM) def. Luis Campos/Timur Kamilov (NGUM) 9-8
2. Hugo Ciarrocchi/Keshia Sedov (NGUM) def. Steven Lin/Oliver Smith (TCM) 8-5
3. Gui Carvalho/Drew Kiser (TCM) def. Guilerme Ferreira/Ian Harvic (NGUM) 8-4

Records: Tusculum (6-0); North Greenville (3-3)