ROCK HILL, S.C. ---- The Tusculum College men's tennis team rallied from a pair of deficits to take a 5-4 quarterfinal victory over Newberry College Thursday in the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament at the Rock Hill Tennis Center. Freshman Stefan Vergeer (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) clinched the victory for the Pioneers with his 6-1, 6-2 triumph over Newberry sophomore David Sons (Lexington, S.C.).

The fourth-seeded Pioneers improve to 12-9 overall, while No. 5 Newberry concludes the 2012 campaign 13-12 overall. Tusculum will face top-seeded Wingate in Friday's 1 p.m. semi-final match.

Newberry sophomore Mohammed Chakir (Rabat, Morocco) gave the Wolves a 4-2 advantage when he defeated Tusculum junior Luis Zamora (Santiago, Chile) 6-3, 6-1 at the number three singles flight. Pioneer freshman Paul Wiederspahn (Wuppertal, Germany) started the TC rally with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Newberry junior Cal Loveridge (Derby, Derbyshire, England) on court number four.

SAC Freshman of the Year Lukas Winkelmann (Boeblingen, Germany) tied the match 4-4 when he topped Newberry sophomore Michael Saunders (Christchurch, New Zealand) 6-1, 6-4 at the number singles flight. Saunders had helped the Wolves tie the match 1-1 when he teamed with classmate Vinicius Botelho (Fortzleza, Brazil) to defeat Winkelmann and Zamora 8-5 in the number one doubles contest.

Wiederspahn and senior Steven Lin (Ping Dong, Taiwan) struck first for the Pioneers, blanking Chakir and Sons 8-0 at the number two doubles flight. Lin copied his teammate, as he also earned a 6-1, 6-0 singles victory over Newberry freshman Carlos Nicolopulos (Valencia, Venezuela) on court number five.

Botelho was the only double winner for Newberry, as he defeated Tusculum sophomore Tony Bujana (Barquisimeto, Venezuela) 6-0, 6-2 at the number two singles position. Botelho's victory gave the Wolves a 3-2 lead.

- SAC -

Tennis Match Results
Newberry vs Tusculum
Apr 19, 2012 at Rock Hill, S.C.
(Rock Hill Tennis Center)

Tusculum 5, Newberry 4

Singles competition
1. Lukas Winkelmann (TC) def. Michael Saunders (NEW) 6-1, 6-4
2. Vinicius Botelho (NEW) def. Tony Bujana (TC) 6-0, 6-2
3. Mohammed Chakir (NEW) def. Luis Zamora (TC) 6-3, 6-1
4. Paul Wiederspahn (TC) def. Cal Loveridge (NEW) 7-5, 6-1
5. Steven Lin (TC) def. Carlos Nicolopulos (NEW) 6-1, 6-0
6. Stefan Vergeer (TC) def. David Sons (NEW) 6-1, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. Saunders/Botelho (NEW) def. Winkelmann/Zamora (TC) 8-5
2. Lin/Wiederspahn (TC) def. Chakir/Sons (NEW) 8-0
3. Loveridge/Nicolopulos (NEW) def. Drew Kiser/John Taylor (TC) 9-8 (3)

Match Notes:
Newberry 13-12
Tusculum 12-9
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (5,2,3,4,1,6)
Winner advances to Friday's semifinal match to face #1 seed Wingate
Official: D. Foster, C. Moore
T-3:17
A-25