The Tusculum College men's tennis team opened the spring portion of its 2011-12 season with a 7-2 loss to 11th-ranked Lander University Monday afternoon at the Nichols Tennis Complex.

The Bearcats (4-0) won five of six singles matches and two of three doubles pro sets to defeat the Pioneers (0-3), who were the first team to earn points against Lander this season.

Paul Wiederspahn gave the Pioneers a victory in singles at flight four via a 10-5 tiebreaker after splitting the first two sets with Ross Armstrong by scores of 5-7 and 6-1.

In doubles, the team of Lukas Winkelmann and Luis Zamora earned a win at flight one with an 8-5 triumph over Vincent Verpeaux and Renato Assad.

Also in singles, Stefan Vergeer went to a tiebreaker at flight six against the Bearcats' Gary Bertoldo thanks to a 6-2 win in the second set, but fell 10-8 in the tiebreaker.

The Pioneers return to the courts Friday afternoon at home against Milligan, with a match time of 2:30 p.m. at the Nichols Tennis Complex.